I wish to express my profound gratitude for Christian Science. I did not become interested in it for physical healing, but because I was looking for a satisfying, practical religion that could be relied upon.
About thirty years ago my sister, who was visiting in our home, invited me to a Sunday morning service at a Church of Christ, Scientist. I shall always cherish the memory of that occasion, because I learned for the first time in my life that God is Life, Truth, and Love, a present help at all times. A dormant sense of religion was awakened in my consciousness, and I left the church with a new lease on life.
My sister gave me a copy of Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy and a Christian Science Quarterly. With these and the Bible I began to study the Lesson-Sermons. As I continued reading and reasoning about the spiritual facts of creation, including man, my thoughts were fortified spiritually, and I was able to prove what I knew of God and His allness. A change of residence to a large city and a more attractive position for my husband were two of the first developments which took place.
For many winters I had suffered from laryngitis, which caused me to speak in a whisper for days at a time. I knew that my fear of this ailment needed to be handled as we are taught in Christian Science. Our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, tells us in Science and Health (p. 386), "So long as mortals declare that certain states of the atmosphere produce catarrh, fever, rheumatism, or consumption, those effects will follow—not because of the climate, but on account of the belief." I denied a power apart from God and affirmed God's law of health and harmony, which His child expresses and reflects by divine authority. My fear was destroyed, and the healing of laryngitis which followed has been permanent.
Because I one day carelessly accepted another's remarks about catching cold, I manifested this condition, and there was a stoppage of breathing in one nostril. While attending a Wednesday evening testimony meeting I felt an earnest longing to be a witness to the healing power of the Christ, which was so fully demonstrated by Jesus. These words were read from the desk (Science and Health, pp. 153, 154): "Neither sympathy nor society should ever tempt us to cherish error in any form, and certainly we should not be error's advocate."I was breathing naturally when I left the church. The truth had made me free.
Some time ago I caught my fingers in the wringer of an electric washer, and before I could release the hand, it was necessary to reverse the action of the rollers. The pain was intense, but I put the hand behind me and refused to look at it. I declared aloud "the scientific statement of being" (ibid., p. 468). Then I reasoned along this line: "God is the all-loving Father, and since man is spiritual and perfect, there is no room for imperfection in God's kingdom. There is nothing going on but good, and I know it. Christian Science does heal." In a short while I was free from any discomfort, and I finished the work I had to do that day.
Being sincerely desirous of church membership, I longed to be free from the habit of social drinking. I was healed when I realized that man is not a slave to false appetite, but that God's child is pure, upright, and free. Healings of false traits of character have also been experienced.
Many years ago while attending a Christian Science Sunday School, my daughter was healed of lisping. Her childlike receptivity allowed spiritual truths to fill her consciousness, and the healing took place.
I am grateful to the practitioners, to my friends, and to my sister, who helped me to find a better way of life. Mrs. Eddy's writings, membership in The Mother Church, and teaching in the Sunday School of a branch church have been of great benefit. And the blessings that have followed class instruction bring me constant inspiration. I thank God for Christian Science.— Apopka, Florida.
