When I was a young child, I was run over by a horse-drawn wagon carrying a load of bricks. A rear wheel went over the lower part of my back. Medical attention was sought, and in due time I was playing with my friends, but for more than forty years I was plagued by the fear that pressure on a nerve was causing an ailment.
In the year 1934, 1 first learned of Christian Science, read parts of the textbook, Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, and, on occasion, The Christian Science Monitor. In 1949, I moved to the West Coast with my family, my wife and two sons, where a conveniently located Church of Christ, Scientist, attracted us. My wife and I attended church, and our two sons were enrolled in the Sunday School. In the mid1950's I became a member of The Mother Church, then the local church, and some years later the right time came to have class instruction.
Before I became a sincere and earnest student of Christian Science, I had tried to mix material and spiritual means of healing. However, the fear that had plagued me for so many years was not eliminated from my thought until I worked prayerfully in Christian Science to correct recurrence of the back problem. Through the study of Christian Science I learned that there could be no pressure except that referred to in the textbook (p. 451): "Christian Scientists must live under the constant pressure of the apostolic command to come out from the material world and be separate."
