I found Christian Science, when I was hungering and thirsting for the truth, through a copy of the Journal which I obtained from a distribution rack located in a railroad station. I had just become a stewardess in the Air Force, traveling over the Atlantic Ocean regularly. Christian Science imparted an understanding of where my true safety actually is. I read and accepted completely this statement in Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy (p. 424): "Under divine Providence there can be no accidents, since there is no room for imperfection in perfection."
There was only one incident in my flying experience when the suggestion of danger presented itself. I was informed by the aircraft commander on a flight to West Germany that one of the four engines had stopped operating and a second engine was not functioning properly. Our plane was forced to return to our base in the United States, even though we were almost halfway across the Atlantic.
I felt momentary fear, but then I turned to the truths of safety as taught in Christian Science and found complete release from all fear. When two amphibious planes joined us, in case we should have to ditch our aircraft in the ocean, some of the passengers became alarmed. I am grateful to say I was able to comfort them and assure them of our complete safety with a strong conviction that this was the truth. Late that evening we landed at the base without any difficulty.
Since it developed that I was usually on flying duty during the times of Christian Science church services and meetings, I requested permission to be grounded after flying about a year and a half. Permission was granted, but the prediction was made that I would miss the advantages and interesting life of flying and that I would be placed in some dull position typing reams of passenger manifests.
This is exactly what happened. Also, I was placed on the midnight shift. But I refused to entertain the slightest discouraging thought and maintained that since my motives were right, I could only be blessed. I clung to these verses from Proverbs (3:5, 6): "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." I did much study in Christian Science, and within a short time, through a series of interesting events, I was assigned to a challenging position which was a great source of further unfoldment and demonstration.
The most important factor at this time was the love and hospitality expressed to me by the members of a branch church in a nearby city. They were a great help to me in my early study of Christian Science, and I recall this whole time with much gratitude and appreciation.
In my Air Force experience, I never felt a sense of loss of individuality or freedom, although I was part of a large, necessarily regimented organization. I gained a firm conviction that God has a plan for His offspring and that nothing can interfere with the orderly unfoldment of it. I read in "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" by Mrs. Eddy (p. 158), "We live in an age of Love's divine adventure to be All-in-all." I saw that when we apply Christian Science to every phase of our lives as much as we possibly can, we have a feeling of adventure. There is never a dull or restricted moment in the faithful application of Science.
It was during this time also that a double curvature of the spine and a very slightly shortened limb were corrected. I was not consciously seeking healing; but as I studied the Lesson-Sermon, provided in the Quarterly, or as I read the periodicals, I would feel adjustments taking place in my back or in my leg or foot. Mrs. Eddy says in Science and Health (p. 162): "Christian Science brings to the body the sunlight of Truth, which invigorates and purifies. Christian Science acts as an alterative, neutralizing error with Truth."
After my release from the Air Force, I received many blessings and increased spiritual understanding from branch church work. I also took the important step of having class instruction in Christian Science, thereby learning truths which I have for eternity.
Marriage to a student of Christian Science unfolded next in my experience. We have established a home and are working out the problems of human existence together through our understanding and application of our religion. We have found that the human ideals of marriage and family must be uplifted by the understanding of the divine ideal in every case.
I could relate many other healing experiences, but space does not allow it. I am grateful for the understanding and appreciation of the Holy Bible that Christian Science has given me. I cannot begin to put into words my appreciation of our periodicals. They have been a constant, consistent source of healing and enlightenment. Many times when reading the current periodicals, I have found that the articles meet the specific needs of the day. The truth I am most thankful for is that matter is unreal and that God, Spirit, is All-in-all. — Lexington, Massachusetts.
