My mother was reared in a Christian home, but as she grew to young womanhood she found that she could not accept religion as it had been presented to her. After her marriage she became concerned with what she would do when she had children and could give them no religious teaching. One day a neighbor gave her a copy of Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy to read. This proved to be her answer. Consequently, my brother, sister, and I had the wonderful privilege of attending the Christian Science Sunday School.
I am increasingly grateful to God for Christian Science, and for Mrs. Eddy, who was able to present it to us in such a practical and provable fashion. I am grateful for divine protection and guidance experienced in many ways, to be a member of The Mother Church, for active membership in a branch church, for class instruction, and for the association meetings where we receive yearly refreshment in the truth.
During the years of economic depression I was never without employment. At one time I left one job to take another one which offered much better pay. After two years at this new job, I was given notice to leave because the one whose place I had taken wanted the job again. It was in a large office building, and there were many remarks made by different ones regarding the injustice to me.
I refused to hold any hard feelings and constantly knew that whatever would be a blessing to the other persons involved would of a necessity bless me as well. In ten days a new position in another office opened for me. Although the pay at first was not as much as I had been receiving, in a few months I was advanced in the new office to within a very few dollars of the previous pay. The new work was very interesting, my associates congenial, and I was able to stay in this office until I wished to leave to be married.
Mrs. Eddy states on page 369 of Science and Health that "the prophylactic and therapeutic (that is, the preventive and curative) arts belong emphatically to Christian Science, as would be readily seen, if psychology, or the Science of Spirit, God, was understood." I have had numerous occasions to prove this statement. One afternoon when our daughter was quite young two girls in the neighborhood came over to play with her. I noticed that one child was quite uncomfortable with what appeared to be a cold. I took a few moments to realize that only good can be transmitted from one of God's ideas to another. The children played all afternoon.
The next morning the mother of the children came over in a great state of frustration and full of fears and apologies. One of her little girls had come down with the measles. The mother said that it would be only a matter of time until her other child would come down with them too, and so, she thought, would our daughter. I told her not to feel badly about it, that I knew she hadn't known the nature of the child's trouble or she wouldn't have allowed her to come over.
As she left, I immediately began to know the truth. I knew that God made everything and that He made it good. Consequently, since measles were not good, God couldn't have made them. I knew too that error couldn't be attached to our little girl by any so-called laws of mortal mind and that since measles didn't belong to her, they did not belong to any of God's ideas.
When I had sufficiently cleared my thought, I went about my daily home affairs. Whenever the thought of contagion came to me again in the next few days, I declared the truth, sometimes aloud. I gained a complete sense of peace about the situation. Needless to say, there were no measles in our home, nor did the other child come down with them.
Many times when symptoms of colds have presented themselves I have refused to accept these erroneous suggestions, realizing that they were not from God, and all symptoms have vanished. One time when I was not alert and a cold had developed to the point where I was very miserable, I asked for the help of a Christian Science practitioner. Treatment was given, and by the next morning there was not the slightest sign of a cold. I was completely healed. This quick healing has meant much to me, for it disproved the generally accepted medical theory that a cold must run its course.
On one occasion our daughter was greatly distressed with an earache. The thought that something might be wrong with her ears overwhelmed me for a moment, and I didn't feel free in my own thought to handle the situation, since previously fear had been expressed by some of the family about complications resulting from ear trouble. Through the help of a practitioner whom I called, the child was perfectly free the following day and went about her play as usual.
A couple of days later she came to me again and said that her other ear was hurting her. My first thought was that what had once been proven conclusively to be an erroneous dream could not now appear to be something. We were through with it! We talked a few minutes of God, and then she asked me to read to her from Science and Health. When she fell asleep in a few minutes, I continued reading silently, only to have her waken shortly and ask me to read some more. This I did, and in another few minutes she announced that she wanted to go outside to play. For an instant I had the thought that I should keep her in; but just as quickly I realized that the perfect healing needed no time for convalescence. That was the end of the trouble.
Words cannot express my gratitude for this wonderful religion and for happiness, health, friendships, abundance, and affection shared with a loving husband and daughter, who are also students of Christian Science.— Northridge, California.
