Words are inadequate to express my...

Words are inadequate to express my sincere and humble gratitude to God for Christ Jesus, our Way-shower, for Mrs. Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, and for the movement of which she is Leader. I can honestly say that the greatest gift I have, and the one for which I am the most grateful, is my religion.

I attended a Christian Science Sunday School from the age of two until I was twenty; but even though I had many proofs of God's great love and protection, I took this profound Science for granted. It was not until after the birth of our last child that I found myself having to rely wholeheartedly on God, and I realized afterward the great rewards of true gratitude.

I became quite ill with an abscessed breast. Blood poisoning set in, and one night I was delirious. During that night each adult member of my family took turns sitting up with me and reading to me from Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy. I am very grateful for this tender expression of love. I cannot remember too clearly all that went on. I can only say that I wanted to pass on, and I almost did a couple of times.

Later through mental surgery alone the healing began that was to continue until my breast was restored to normal. Even though for two months I was in constant pain, great spiritual growth was unfolding. I began gaining new concepts of our great religion. It was almost like being born again. There were many times during this experience when I all but gave up; but after each siege of mental depression, I would ascend a step higher on the ladder to spiritual understanding.

While I was studying Science and Health, my attention was arrested by this thought-provoking statement: "By chemicalization I mean the process which mortal mind and body undergo in the change of belief from a material to a spiritual basis" (pp. 168, 169). I could clearly see the importance of gaining a more spiritual concept of perfect God and perfect man, and I realized that this experience was pushing me further into the understanding of Christian Science.

I had several relapses, but I clung steadfastly to this assurance (ibid., p. 419): "A relapse cannot in reality occur in mortals or so-called mortal minds, for there is but one Mind, one God."

Because I could not stand up straight and because one arm was useless, it was necessary to have a housekeeper live in for a while. I spent every spare waking moment earnestly reading and studying the Bible and Science and Health. The Lord's Prayer with its spiritual interpretation, given to us in our textbook, was very close to my heart, and each time I prayed it I gained new enlightenment. Prior to this time, I had never realized the vastness of this spiritually complete prayer. The prayer's last sentence and its interpretation read (ibid., p. 17):

Before the healing was complete, it became necessary for me to have a different practitioner, and through prayer I was led to call one whom I did not know and who was living in a distant state. In less than two weeks the abscessed condition was completely healed. I remember quite vividly the great sense of peace, happiness, and gratitude which engulfed me. I went around for months afterward not being able to speak a cross word, nor did I listen to one. But the breast didn't resume its normal size after the healing (in fact it was half a breast), and I became disappointed and upset over the matter.

However, a sincere and earnest desire for class instruction unfolded immediately after the healing of the abscessed condition, and the practitioner who had stood by me so faithfully day and night became my teacher less than a year later. This class experience has been the most precious event in my life. It is the kindergarten of spiritual understanding, in which we learn how to mold our lives according to the teachings of Christ Jesus and to demonstrate Christian Science. Mere words could not express the heartfelt gratitude I have for this glorious provision given to us by our Leader and for our yearly association meeting. They have truly changed my life.

And two years after I had had class instruction, as a result of prayerful work, which was helped immeasurably by what I had learned in class, I was finally able to release the material view of man. I became aware of God's perfect and complete man and at about this time I realized my breast had grown to its previous normal size.

I am grateful for membership in The Mother Church, for service in a branch church, and for our Sunday Schools. Our five young children are Sunday School pupils. Christian Science is a way of life, and for my husband, our children, and me, it is the way of Life.—(Mrs.) Patricia Keely Kerr, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

It is a pleasure indeed to confirm my daughter's testimony. I was one of the four who took turns throughout the night sitting by her bed and reading from the Bible and from Science and Health, singing hymns, and praying. At times she appeared to be passing on; and as I prayed to know the truth of God and man, I saw that it was not part of God's plan to take a young mother from her five children.

Beautiful statements flooded my thoughts, such as Paul's words, "Your life is hid with Christ in God" (Col. 3:3). I knew that God is man's Life and cannot be lost, for Life is eternal. The healing began. I knelt by the bed and thanked God. I truly felt I was standing on holy ground.

I believe I have never been more conscious of God's presence and nearness than at the sudden passing of my dear husband about six years ago. I experienced an instantaneous and complete healing of grief and of a sense of separation. I shall never cease to be grateful to the kind practitioner and the Christian Science friends who helped me through this experience.

In addition to experiencing many instances of divine protection and guidance, I have had numerous physical healings, including those of athlete's foot, migraine, chronic constipation, colds, and burns. Lost articles have been found, lack of supply has been overcome, and I have been beautifully sustained.

I am deeply grateful to God for our beloved Leader, who shared with us her great spiritual revelation, Christian Science. For membership in The Mother Church, for the privilege of serving in various branch church activities and offices, including that of Reader, for class instruction, and for the continuous blessing of the periodicals, I am grateful. — (Mrs.) Mayoma Tate Keely, Las Cruces, New Mexico.