Roget's Thesaurus gives "acknowledgment" as one of the synonyms of gratitude. I wish to acknowledge the benefits I have received through the study of Christian Science.
During the time I attended art school, Christian Science was a great help to me. One of our projects was to design an original pattern for block printing on cloth. I struggled to make something original. One day as I studied the Lesson-Sermon in the Christian Science Quarterly, I read, "From the infinite elements of the one Mind emanate all form, color, quality, and quantity, and these are mental, both primarily and secondarily" (Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, p. 512). While thinking about this truth as I worked with my paints, I began creating harmonious forms and colors. I knew, too, that "a spiritual idea has not a single element of error, and this truth removes properly whatever is offensive" (ibid., p. 463). Both my teacher and I were surprised at the beauty and harmony of my design.
During the war I served with the Navy. The Christian Science Wartime Ministers were very loving. When I was confined to sick bay with scarlet fever, the Minister visited me almost every day, bringing with him inspiring literature and words of cheer. The doctor informed me that I would be in isolation for twenty-one days, the usual period of quarantine for this disease. Within a week I felt well enough to be out of bed and was eating as heartily as usual, but the doctor's orders were for me to remain in bed. As I was the only one in a two-bed ward, I felt quite free to spend most of the remaining two weeks studying Science and Health and reading the Christian Science Sentinel and The Christian Science Monitor. The nurse and doctor frightened me when they told me that my skin would peel and that my ears would be harmed. Christian Science treatment took away my fear, and as a result there were no ill effects. The doctor was surprised that I recovered so quickly and that I suffered no aftereffects.
