It is with joy that I record the happiness, progress, and fulfillment which have come into my experience since I began the study of Christian Science in 1952.
At that time I had resigned from one profession, had achieved only mediocre success in a second, and, through lack of capital, was failing in a third. I was lonely, subject to abdominal difficulties, to migraine, which would sometimes last for days, and to colds and influenza. A sense of frustration and hopelessness, interspersed with bouts of bad temper, afflicted me (and, through me, others). I seemed to be the victim of impersonal injustice.
Family responsibilities prevented me, I thought, from moving to an area where I could use my talents; and to remain where I was would burden me with duties, not of my own choosing, which I had neither the strength, nor the knowledge, nor the money to carry out. I used alcohol sparingly and tobacco unsparingly. I was at times desperately self-conscious and had other problems for which there appeared to be no human solution. The future seemed dreary and futile.
Although respecting all Christian denominations, including Christian Science, I had never joined any church, considering that religion was not for me, an intellectual and a man of the world, even though my intellect and worldly wisdom had failed to solve my problems. However, help was at hand, and when I was humble enough to accept it, there it was—as it always is.
I was impelled to investigate several Christian Science lectures reprinted in the Monitor. I found the first one stimulating, the second exciting, and halfway through the third I decided to stop reading about Christian Science and to study the religion itself. I bought a Bible and a copy of the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, and, with the aid of a Quarterly, began the regular study of the weekly Lesson-Sermons. I also read Science and Health right through consecutively, carefully. Although I am a quick reader, this took about a fortnight.
Perhaps the first fruit of this work was the discovery that Christian Science, whose essence can be grasped by little children, is also intellectually challenging and intellectually satisfying to adults. It answered my searching and critical questions, even though I didn't understand it all by any means. But at a Christian Science lecture, I learned not to worry about those parts of Science and Health which I did not understand or could not agree with and to press on and apply what I did grasp. And so I did. Gradually the meaning of the whole magnificent and blessed book has become clearer, as my preconceptions and proudly held personal opinions have melted before the luminous warmth of Truth.
Now my life has been transformed: drabness has been vanquished by colorful activity; futility has become fulfillment; failures have been revealed as opportunities to turn from the wrong course to the right one. The intense self-consciousness has gone; so has the use of tobacco and alcohol. Adequate solutions have been found for personal problems which seemed insoluble, and the abdominal difficulties, migraine, and other recurrent physical ills have vanished long since.
The mists of hopelessness and frustration have evaporated to show a future rich in happy progress; the furious bursts of bad temper have shrunk to occasional moments of irritation, and these have become fewer and fewer. Injustices which I have experienced have been turned into stepping-stones to higher achievements, and the belief of being limited to one location has given way to actual freedom to move about the world.
Loneliness has been succeeded by a companionship which daily delights and uplifts me. Narrow family problems have yielded to joy in the universal family of man. Anxiety has given place to a growing awareness of, and trust in, the unfailing, ever-alert, irresistible goodness of God towards all His children, including me. Study of the Bible and of authorized Christian Science literature has greatly enriched my life.
Is it any wonder that I give thanks to God for Christ Jesus, who demonstrated the Father to us, and for Mrs. Eddy, who, humbly and steadfastly following our Master, brought Jesus' teachings, especially illumined for this age, to feed the world's spiritual hunger?
Thanks to Christian Science, I look with confident expectation towards the illimitable future, unknown to me but known to God in the minutest joyful detail. — Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England.
