It has long been my desire to express loving gratitude for the spirituality and steadfastness of our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, in giving to the world the truth about God and man, God's law of harmony, which she has named Christian Science. This truth transformed me from a sickly, sorrowful individual to one of buoyant health and boundless joy.
From my infancy, asthma, which I had supposedly inherited, compelled me to struggle for almost every breath. During my childhood every remedy of the medical profession was tried, to alleviate the suffering. At times pure oxygen was administered. Over a long period daily visits were made to the hospital for injections into the blood stream of pollen of flowers and other foreign substances to ascertain the cause of the difficult breathing. Because X rays revealed spots on the lungs, the physician recommended a drier climate. Therefore, though young in years, I left my family, friends, and familiar surroundings to seek my health in Texas. It was soon obvious that health was not to be found in climate, for in Texas the physical condition was more aggravated than ever before.
In despair I felt impelled to request Christian Science treatment, having heard that Christian Scientists healed by prayer. The practitioner who was asked to help remarked to me, "Doubtless you think it is the air you breathe which causes your suffering." Too ill to reply, I nodded in agreement. Then she spoke those golden words which will always be remembered: "God is Love, and man is His image and likeness; therefore man lives and moves and breathes in the atmosphere of Love." This redemptive thought had never been presented to me throughout a childhood of good religious training. Once heard, however, it flooded my consciousness with hope and comfort. The next twenty-four hours were spent in coughing. But faith in omnipotent God, a loving Father to all His children, never wavered. When the coughing ceased, the pressure on my chest lifted, and perfect freedom in breathing prevailed. There was no period of convalescence, nor has there ever been any relapse.
