I had the privilege of being raised in Christian Science. My childhood was joyous and free. Whenever a physical problem appeared, it was always quickly and completely healed through prayer. I can remember healings as a child of a sprained ankle, pinkeye, a finger injured in a car door, and many others. I also remember that I was well and active and in school at times when many of my classmates were home.
There was one healing during high school that has been a source of continued blessings to me. Upon entering my teens I grew tall more rapidly than my classmates, put on a great deal of weight, and had many blemishes appear on my face. Being conscious of this physical condition and not applying Christian Science treatment to this situation, I became very self-conscious and began feeling that my friends were trying to avoid me. A deep feeling of inferiority developed, and I found that I ceased to participate in school activities or to speak to people for fear of what they might think or say of me. Thus I found myself with few friends and became a most unhappy person.
My mother suggested that I ask a Christian Science practitioner for help on this problem, but I was too full of self-pity to be willing to tell anyone that I had such thoughts and feelings. Just before my senior year in high school, my father was transferred to another city. I felt that the change in surroundings, a new school with new people, would solve all these problems for me. However, I soon found that the same problems persisted, so out of complete desperation I finally went to a Christian Science practitioner for help. The practitioner lovingly directed me to the Bible, where it is written (Gen. 1: 27) "God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
