Christian Science was presented to my family when I was a young girl and at a time when the sudden severe illness of a parent brought sad change and adjustment to a home previously knowing only happiness and freedom. The Christly logic and comfort of this teaching were felt somewhat; but our deep despondency seemed to prevent real awakening to the precious relief at hand. However, the truths I had heard read at a Church of Christ, Scientist, stayed in my heart, and I attended services and meetings occasionally throughout school and university years. Always I had a conviction that this Science was the true presentation of Christly ministry and not merely another Christian denomination.
In the years after our introduction to Science, a succession of problems left little hope of happiness or security in human relationships or achievements. As conventional trusts vanished one by one, I turned with humility to God and to the unreserved study of Christian Science, ashamed of my delay. To this day I can recall the measureless relief and sense of safety that filled me when first I read on page 249 of Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, "Either there is no omnipotence, or omnipotence is the only power." I knew I should never again be without that daystar of conviction and inspiration.
The self-distrust, fears, and anguish of personal sense were gradually dispelled. There were healings of sleeplessness, chronic weakness, and exhaustion. The use of tobacco and alcohol, accepted briefly and uneasily as a social expedient, quickly and permanently ceased. After a few more years of study, during which I had little contact outside home and professional relationships and in which I spent long hours alone with the Bible and Science and Health, I withdrew harmoniously from my former church membership. With an eagerness which has never dimmed, I joined The Mother Church and one of its branches.
