"Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!" (Ps. 107:8.) My testimony in the Journal of February 1955, tells of some of these wonderful works done for me during the early years of my study of Christian Science, and of the help ever at hand in the rearing of our children. I want to continue that praise in further testimony to God's great love for me, made available and practical through continued application of the teachings of Christian Science.
An unforgettable proof of divine Love's action and power was mine when I was serving my branch church as substitute First Reader. I was aware of a slight discomfort in my tongue on Wednesday and wakened the following morning with the tongue greatly swollen. For the next three days I did not eat or drink because I could not swallow, nor could I speak. During this time my husband lovingly and constantly supported me, reading from the writings of Mrs. Eddy and declaring to me spiritual truths regarding man's uninterrupted harmony and my freedom from bondage to material belief.
Saturday evening I determined I would not sleep until the mesmerism was broken. In order to stay awake I walked the floor much of the night, mentally claiming my God-bestowed right to total security and harmony. A little after four I did drop off to sleep and wakened again at five-thirty. The swelling was gone. I was healed. When I told my husband, he embraced me and in joy we went dancing down the hall.
The trust I had in the truth we were knowing was such that it never occurred to me to contact our church executive board that a standby might be ready "just in case." I conducted two services that Sunday with complete freedom and dominion. The following Thursday evening as I sat reading the Christian Science Sentinel, a slight sensation caused an involuntary action of the tongue and there was expelled from the far back area a stone-like pebble. That was the total end of that trouble. There has never been the slightest indication of a repetition. "O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him" (Ps. 34:8).
I cannot possibly overestimate the help I received from the teachings of Christian Science when my husband passed on. To mortal sense it was a severe testing time, a challenge to my understanding. Our lives together had so blended that at times I had asked myself, "Where does he leave off and I begin?" My need was to learn to think of myself as a complete individual, a whole number, and not as a deso-late-left-alone-dangling-half-of-two, as the darkened error of thought would have had me do.
Mrs. Eddy writes (Pulpit and Press, p. 4), "Is not a man metaphysically and mathematically number one, a unit, and therefore whole number, governed and protected by his divine Principle, God?" This spiritual fact urged its way into my consciousness. Gradually I came to see that I am the child of God's husbanding and therefore complete—an expression of Love's completeness. I found peace and rest in this understanding.
Thus it is that through the study and practical application of the teachings of Christian Science I have learned in some degree to understand, love, and reverence the Way-shower, Christ Jesus. My gratitude to Mrs. Eddy is deep and constant. My prayer is that I may be a faithful worker in the Father's vineyard.
Long Beach, California
