With humility and deep gratitude I wish to share the following experience. I had worked faithfully and joyfully in a church activity, and although my term of service was ending soon, there was no one prepared or trained to step into the office. I had overcome many problems and conditions through my understanding of God as Truth and Principle. But now I found myself being handled by the thought of personal responsibility. During the last month of my term, I put every effort into helping the future head of the office but left feeling not only that in some way I was remiss but also that others were remiss.
I accepted another activity but found that I was not happy in it, nor did I seem suited to it. After a year I resigned, and so it continued. I would do a little church work but not really apply the understanding I had gained through my study of Mrs. Eddy's wonderful revelation, Christian Science.
I grew bored and indifferent. Oh, I studied and went to church and did the things that were required—in a mechanical way. Then all at once I realized that I was not as well physically as I had always been. At times I experienced severe pain. I would ask for treatment from a practitioner and always had relief, but I was not healed. This went on for about a year and a half. I gained weight and was extremely uncomfortable. I was not able to walk or do many simple household chores without resting. I had always enjoyed working in the garden, but I found I could not do this at all.