I first heard of Christian Science nearly fifty years ago when I was a very ill and worried woman. I had been told that I would never be well unless I underwent an operation, and the necessary arrangements had been made for me to enter hospital. Three days before I was due to go to hospital, I received a letter from an aunt who suggested that I should try Christian Science instead. I visited a Christian Science practitioner, who talked to me and finally said, "You cannot have God and mammon. It is up to you. Come and see me again when you have decided."
Up to this time I had been a devout member of the Church of England, had taught in its Sunday School for many years, and so felt confident that God would show me what to do. That evening a nurse from the hospital called, and I asked her whether the operation was necessary, as I felt no pain. She advised me to postpone it. This I felt was the answer, and I decided not to have the operation. Instead, I revisited the practitioner and studied Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy as she directed me. I was completely cured through my study of Christian Science. I became a member of The Mother Church and also of a branch church and later had class instruction.
I had the privilege of teaching in the Sunday School for thirty years and found inspiration from the children I taught. Once during the Second World War, when my eight-year-old granddaughter was staying with me, she complained of an inflamed throat. She asked me to read to her from the Bible the story of the three Hebrew men in the fiery furnace (see Dan., Chap. 3). When I had finished reading, she fell asleep and awakened the next morning completely well. The erroneous claim could not affect her any more than the fire could burn the young men.
