It has been my great privilege to have known of Christian Science all my life. Both my husband and I attended a Christian Science Sunday School when we were children, and we are now both active in church work. We are profoundly grateful for having had class instruction. During the six years my husband was in the United States Navy he did not miss attending the yearly association meeting although at times he had been in far parts of the world shortly before the date of the meeting. Our two children, who attend Sunday School regularly, are happy to be active Christian Scientists.
When our daughter was just a few days old, she began having a great deal of difficulty with the digestion of her food. She accepted the food eagerly, but almost immediately it would come back up with great force. Prayerful work was continued in Christian Science, but I was filled with a great sense of fear.
On the day the Christian Science nurse who had been with me since the birth had to leave us to go on to another case I talked by long-distance telephone with the practitioner who had helped me at the time of the birth. I asked her to do specific work to dispel my fear. This was done, and both my husband and I prayed earnestly in order to see the unreality of the sense picture which was so alarming. From that day, the baby's healing began. A short time later she was eating well and assimilating her food, and she was soon a plump, happy little girl. Throughout this experience we used the statement from Isaiah (1:19), "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land."
When my husband's work necessitated a move to the Chicago area, we felt that this would be a progressive move and would result in larger opportunities in many directions. We also felt it would be necessary to sell our house in order to go forward with the change of location. All the human footsteps were taken to sell the house, but no action resulted. Work was being done by a practitioner, and my husband and I were also doing much earnest work. Still nothing happened.
We made the decision to go forward. We felt led to go to the new area, and we arranged while we were there to buy a new house that was being built. Still we did not sell our old one. During this period we found the Bible account of the passage of the children of Israel out of Egypt a helpful one to study. When the way was blocked by the Red Sea, Moses was told by God, "Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward" (Ex. 14:15). And so we were obedient and went ahead with our plans to make the move.
One day the thought of going forward was very persistent, and when I attended the Wednesday evening testimony meeting at church the first hymn sung was No. 12 in the Christian Science Hymnal, which contains the words,
Go forward then, and as ye preach
So let your works confirm your speech.
The readings contained the account of the Red Sea passage that I had been studying during the day. This was encouraging to me and marked the turning point in the demonstration.
The following day it came to me that we should reach out through the channels of The Mother Church, and an advertisement was placed in the real estate section of The Christian Science Monitor. Although the ultimate sale of the house did not come as a direct result of the advertisement in the Monitor, much activity began on that day; and from that point many people stopped to see the house. We knew that the one Mind, God, was governing and that "the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof" (Ps. 24:1). The week after the advertisement had appeared in the Monitor a buyer for our house appeared; and within five days all the details were complete, and we were enabled to go on with our plans to move. Each step took place in order. We learned later that if we had sold the house earlier, it would have been necessary for us to move twice. Our new home was completed within the thirty-day period after the sale of our house, and the move was accomplished with smoothness. We had once again seen the one Mind in operation.
When our son was about four years old, he had what appeared to be a boil inside his nose. It was quite painful, and it had been necessary for me to hold him on my lap for the greater part of that day. While talking that evening with the practitioner who was helping us, I recall that I said to her, "I suppose the trouble is coming from my overprotective concern for him."
Her reply was: "You must not condemn yourself for that. You have a right to love him." This seemed to release a sense of pressure in my thinking; and when I turned from the phone, I could see that the healing process had begun. Our son was smiling and happy, and from then his recovery was rapid.
Many so-called children's diseases have been dispelled through the help of Christian Science. Much protection has been experienced. Changes of employment have been accomplished and supply manifested. We have indeed had many blessings. I am sincerely grateful for all the proofs of God's great love for all His children.— Roselle, Illinois.
