Over twenty years ago I had pernicious anemia. The doctors at a well-known medical clinic told me, after exhaustive examinations, that I was in the last stages of the disease and that there was no record in medical history of recovery from such a condition. Not long after this some Christian Science Sentinels came into my possession. I read them more through curiosity than through any hope of help from them. But before long the question kept coming to me, Why not try Christian Science? We had two small children, and I did not want to commit myself to anything that would not be right for them. So I prayed over it. I had belonged to an orthodox Protestant church for several years, but my understanding of prayer was vague, and the results were uncertain. In this case, however, the answer seemed clearer than usual, and I borrowed a copy of the textbook, Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, and consulted a practitioner.
On my first visit she explained to me the differing stories of creation as given in the first and second chapters of Genesis, pointing out that the understanding and acceptance of the first one, where man is shown to be wholly spiritual, and the repudiation of the second, or material, account were the first steps toward being freed from all the ills "that flesh is heir to." From that hour I felt a great release; the symptoms of the disease began to lessen, and in the twenty years since then I have had no return of the trouble.
The explanation of the spiritual nature of reality brought me great illumination from the beginning. I would waken in the night and think to myself, There is no matter; God made a spiritual universe. I read the textbook and then borrowed Mrs. Eddy's other writings and read them, delighted when I came to something I could readily understand, and not unduly concerned with what seemed at first contradictory. The ease with which our children, aged seven and nine, grasped and immediately began to use this new teaching was a great inspiration to me. Within a few weeks after beginning our study of Science, they were both healed quickly of whooping cough.
