One day when I was a child a number of older boys were visiting at our home. They discovered some poison ivy and drew back from it in fear. Feeling very boastful, I pulled off several leaves of ivy and rubbed them on my hands. I had handled such ivy ever since I could remember without fear and now felt that it could not harm me. One of the boys talked about the effects of poison ivy and said that no doubt my parents would have the doctor for me within a day or so. The doctor was soon called, as predicted, and pronounced my condition very bad. From that year on for about the next forty years I was poisoned by ivy almost every summer.
After taking up the study of Christian Science I tried many times to prevent the poisoning, but each time I was exposed the disease quickly appeared. One day I went into a cornfield to gather a basket of black-eye peas from vines growing beneath the corn. I had picked peas for a distance of perhaps fifty yards when I discovered much poison ivy growing with the corn and peas. I felt like a man condemned; great fear came over me. I hurriedly finished gathering the peas and rushed home, keeping secret my fear. I retired to my study, feeling that only Christian Science could save me. After about an hour's reading of the textbooks, the Bible and Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, I felt that the battle was won.
However, the fear returned and was not completely destroyed until after two days of further study. From the peace that followed I knew that I had been entirely and permanently healed. I walked up close to a vine of poison ivy and, looking down upon it, said, "You poor little thing, how you have been lied about; you can never harm me again." Tears of gratitude streamed down my cheeks, for I felt I had won a great victory. That fall I harvested my apples where poison ivy grew all over the ground and where I had not dared to go before, and there were no ill effects. Later, on several occasions, I worked near poison ivy with no discomfort whatever.
