My father and mother were members of an orthodox Christian church in a small town. They were very strong in their faith. Then one Sunday afternoon they went to visit a relative whom they had not seen for several years. She told them of a wonderful book called Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy. She asked them to take the book home with them and read it, saying, "If you find in it anything that is not true, burn it." They read the book and then returned it. Soon they purchased a copy of their own and took up the study of Christian Science; but I myself did not become an earnest student of it until later.
Soon after my marriage I suffered severe pain. In this time of need I read the Bible and Science and Health faithfully, but the pain continued. Then I invited a friend to dinner. Late in the evening I told her about my ailment, and she replied that it sounded like a certain kidney trouble. My husband then asked me to see a doctor. I replied, "I am going to write to a Christian Science practitioner for help, and if I am healed, I am willing to become a Christian Scientist."
I had heard of a practitioner in a nearby town; so I wrote asking her for treatment through prayer. When I thought it was time to receive an answer, I walked down to the post office to collect it. It was there but I did not open it right away. As I walked along, a great unfoldment of truth came to me, and my thought was illumined. After reading the letter, I turned to "the scientific statement of being," given on page 468 of Science and Health, and every line revealed a wonderful truth. One of these facts is that "there is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter." Through the work of this practitioner not only was I healed, but the door of my thought was opened to a clearer understanding of Truth and Love.
