My first testimony appeared in the Christian Science Sentinel of December 29, 1934. Now I wish to thank God for the manifold blessings that have come to me since then. In the summer of 1948, my husband, my daughter, and I had a car accident while on a trip East. The car was demolished. My husband and daughter were not badly hurt, but I was paralyzed. I was taken to a hospital, where I informed the attendants I was a Christian Scientist and would be having Christian Science treatment. However, X rays were taken, and they showed that my back was broken in two places and that some of the vertebrae were crushed and out of place. The doctor said to my daughter, "Your mother will never walk again, and it will be at least eight months before she can leave this hospital." I did not accept this verdict.
The most difficult part of the entire healing came in the next few days. It was the overcoming of self. My daughter and husband had been released from the hospital, and I lay there full of disappointment and self-pity. As my thoughts rose to higher levels and as I was able to be happy and grateful for the freedom of my loved ones, my healing began to take place. No material medicine or remedies were used. The doctor had a cast made for me, but when he started to put me into it I requested that it be removed, and it was.
On the eighth day new X rays were taken. The doctor was delighted with the wonderful healing they disclosed, and he acknowledged that Christian Science had accomplished it. He remarked that he had specialized in such cases during World War II, but that in all his experiences he had never known a broken back to be healed without being placed in a cast.
He said that as soon as a walking brace could be made for me, I would be able to leave the hospital. It was just eighteen days from my entry that I left the hospital, and the next day I took my first steps. The brace was discarded within a short time, and I have had absolute freedom. I can ride horseback, swim, dance, ride a bicycle, take long hikes, and even lift heavy objects. Best of all, I enjoy driving the highways in all kinds of weather and have no fear of an accident.
In a few years the way opened for class instruction, and it sustained me through shock and adjustment when my husband suddenly passed on. Supply was manifested, and my daughter was able to graduate from the university, even though our finances were involved in probate.
The right idea of home was established in my consciousness while I was visiting at the Sanatorium of the Christian Science Benevolent Association, San Francisco, California, and the day following my return, a place unfolded in another city. It involved a change of position for both my daughter and me and a decision as to what to do with our property. I humbly asked God to reveal His plan, and the property was soon rented to appreciative and satisfactory tenants. My daughter moved first, and in a few months all was in order so I could follow. We both found work in which we felt happy, and enjoyable activity in a new church soon followed. Within a year I met a Christian Scientist who later became my husband.
Christian Science is truly a governing and guiding power for good when we learn to use the truth as it unfolds to our receptive thought. To say that I am grateful for a lifetime of care and guidance under the influence of this Science and for early training in the Sunday School is hardly enough. am grateful to God for Christ Jesus, our Way-shower, for Mary Baker Eddy, our Leader, for membership in The Mother Church, and for the privilege of serving our Cause in a branch church.— San Diego, California.
In addition to verifying my mother's testimony, I should like to relate an experience of my own. After four months in a new city, where jobs were reported to be scarce, I found myself out of work. At first I was overwhelmed by fear and the recurring suggestion that employment was difficult to obtain. I immediately sought the help of a Christian Science practitioner, who allayed my fears and helped me to know that, as Mrs. Eddy says (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 307): "God gives you His spiritual ideas, and in turn, they give you daily supplies. Never ask for to-morrow: it is enough that divine Love is an ever-present help; and if you wait, never doubting, you will have all you need every moment."
Holding to this thought, I was directed to the right place to look for a job, and within two days I found a position with better pay and more pleasant surroundings than I had had before. This experience has proved to be a blessing and has added to my growth in Christian Science.
I am very grateful to Mrs. Eddy for Christian Science, not only because of all that it has done for me, but because of what it is doing for the whole world. It helps all men to realize that, as we read in Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy (p. 340), "One infinite God, good, unifies men and nations."— San Diego, California.
