In July, 1925, I found Christian Science, and what a glorious day that was for me! I had been a sufferer from childhood; and when I reached maturity my difficulties multiplied until it seemed there was not a healthy organ or function in my body. I was a semi-invalid, spending a good part of the time in bed, and never knew a well day. The doctors finally advised an operation. This was performed, but brought no relief. After three other operations, while the doctors were preparing me for the fifth, I began to reason that if the other operations had been of no avail, and there seemed little hope of my ever surviving the fifth, why submit to it?
Then I began to pray to God to let me die, believing that that was the only way out of my misery. Three days later my neighbor in the next apartment brought me a copy of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy. She said that she had heard what the doctors had said, but she knew that if I would read this book, I would not have to have the operation. I then told her I had decided just to die, and she said, "Oh, but you don't have to die; this will give you health, happiness, and all good, because God loves you." These words were sweet music to my ears. I began at once that memorable morning to read the precious book. By three in the afternoon I realized I could breathe without pain. Oh, I thought, it is doing something for me! So I kept on reading until about two o'clock in the morning; then I went to sleep, and never had I slept so peacefully.
When I awoke in the morning, I thought, You are healed; and I was. The whole world had changed; the sky, the trees, the grass, had never seemed so beautiful. For many months I rejoiced in the healing. But because I wanted to understand how it was done, I read Science and Health every possible moment. I could not leave it alone. I read it through five times, and during the fifth reading I began to be able to distinguish between reality and unreality. In pondering and praying for the true understanding of all I read, I came upon these words (p. 393): "Man is never sick, for Mind is not sick and matter cannot be." I thought, There it is. There seem to be two minds. But there is only one God, the real Mind, in which is no sickness; the other is but the unreal or mortal mind. I saw clearly that all I had to do was to stop believing in mortal mind and its lies and learn to know God and to love Him as All-in-all. This would be my never-ending task.
