Although to mortal sense it might appear that my life has been one of numerous trials, in retrospect I realize it has been one filled with proofs of God's love, guidance, and protection.
My childhood home was lacking in harmony, wisdom, and daily supply. However, at the age of twelve I was placed in the home of a Christian Scientist, and I began to attend the Christian Science Sunday School. There the seed of Truth was sown, and for this I will always be grateful. Though time and time again I was exposed to so-called childhood diseases, I never caught any of them.
When I was sixteen it appeared that I would not be permitted to finish my last year of high school, for it was thought that I should go to work full time. I knew I could not give in to this suggestion, and someone came to me with an offer of a position which would permit me to attend school and also afford me a small sum of money for everyday expenses. This was like manna from heaven. The woman in this home also was a Christian Scientist.
Even though there was a scarcity of time to do schoolwork, my grades were maintained at a better than average level. I know it was my understanding of God that made this possible. After going into the business world, I was able to pay my expenses and help to meet the needs of this family with whom I was staying. As in school, so in my work, God did not desert me. The advancements were rapid, and my activities were harmonious.
I am now blessed with a home wherein there is harmony, understanding, and daily supply. We have two sons, and I endeavor to remember that their real parent is God.
At a time when my younger son was still a toddler, I was helping out in the home of a family that had been broken up by the mother's passing. During this period I was gently reminded to protect myself against the suggestion of false responsibility, but not understanding the difference between responsibility and false responsibility, I went to much effort. The pressure and strain of my thinking manifested themselves on my body. One day I became quite ill, and a few hours later my husband found me unconscious.
A member of the family, a devout student of Christian Science, was called, and she in turn called a practitioner, who worked prayerfully throughout the night. I was unable to do anything for myself except to cling in a half-conscious state to the first line of one of Mrs. Eddy's hymns, entitled "Feed My Sheep" (Poems, p. 14). By morning I was free, except for a weakness that soon left me. When I began to declare God's care for my friends to be the same as for myself and realized that the best way I could help them was to see them in their true status as the beloved children of God, my sense of responsibility "began to decrease, and eventually a new home was established for this family.
When our elder son was less than three years old, an infection began to spread over his entire body. The picture was very alarming. Help was asked of a practitioner and lovingly given. The work was effective in that the child suffered very little. However, as the infection continued to spread, I became frightened and desperate. I left the child's side only once and then with a protest.
In the small hours of one morning I sat holding the restless child and feeling wretched because I could not help him. In despair I turned wholeheartedly to God and cried, "O Father, help me!" As I freed the child from my own sense of false responsibility, he began to improve almost immediately, and before long he was entirely well. Mrs. Eddy states on page 396 of Science and Health, "Keep distinctly in thought that man is the offspring of God. not of man; that man is spiritual, not material; that Soul is Spirit, outside of matter, never in it, never giving the body life and sensation."
As we become sincere members of The Mother Church and live in accordance with its requirements, we walk in gentle dignity. For all of the activities of the Christian Science movement, for the understanding of God's ever-unfolding goodness, I thank my heavenly Father. I am grateful that Mrs. Eddy has revealed to us the way of Life first presented by the Master, Christ Jesus.— Prairie Village, Kansas.
