In her book Miscellaneous Writings Mrs. Eddy states (p. 185), "Self-renunciation of all that constitutes a so-called material man, and the acknowledgment and achievement of his spiritual identity as the child of God, is Science that opens the very flood-gates of heaven; whence good flows into every avenue of being, cleansing mortals of all uncleanness, destroying all suffering, and demonstrating the true image and likeness." I shall never forget these words, written by the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, because they changed my life.
Although my mother had understood enough about Christian Science to enroll me in the Sunday School during my early teens, I did not then assimilate enough of its teachings to make this religion my way of life. During the World War II years, I drifted with the currents of material pleasure into an early marriage, motherhood, and young widowhood. It was at this time that alcohol began to make inroads upon my life.
It seemed the answer to all my problems when a fine young man asked me to be his wife. We had been school chums and had much in common. I loved my new husband and stepchildren and wanted to be a good wife and mother, but for over ten years there was a steady picture of poor health for the children and me, increasing discord in the home, and the passing on of my father, mother, and several other loved ones.
