My mother enrolled me in the Sunday School of a branch Church of Christ, Scientist, when I was eight years old. My father had passed on just a few weeks before. Mother was left with no income and with two daughters of school age to support. She was a semi-invalid with a weak heart. Mother readily accepted the teachings of Christian Science and gave up all medicine. She was restored to health and strength. To earn a living and remain at home with her daughters, she did dressmaking. At times our resources were very low. Afterward she said she could never have pulled through this difficult period without the aid of Christian Science.
At the time of my enrollment in the Christian Science Sunday School, I was a sickly child with a weak stomach. Often I was absent from school a week at a time with biliousness. I loved Christian Science from the start, and through the teachings I had in the Sunday School I was able to attend during the remaining years of my school life without being absent on account of illness. I will always be grateful for my Sunday School teachers. One of them was a public stenographer. Soon after my graduation from high school the First Reader of our branch church called her. He practiced law and was also a member of the state senate. He asked her for the name of a student of Christian Science who had just graduated and was interested in having employment. She gave him my name. Later on my employer was elected governor of his state and I worked in his office in the state capitol.
I have had many healings in Christian Science, some through my own work, and others with the help of a Christian Science practitioner. The healings include tonsillitis, a tendency to severe chest colds, laryngitis, an infected eyelid, impetigo, fear of speaking and singing in public, ivy poisoning, and grief at the passing of my mother. One healing for which I am particularly grateful was of personal worship. This had plagued me since early childhood and occasioned many unhappy experiences. I am sure that if I had not been entirely rid of this error I would not have been qualified to serve the Cause of Christian Science while working at The Mother Church offices.
I have had instances of mental surgery through Christian Science. One healing was of an abscess. I was suffering great pain and called the practitioner who had been treating me. The abscess broke. I again called the practitioner immediately, and we rejoiced. She reminded me of this passage in Hebrews (4:12): "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword."
Another instance of mental surgery came after a strenuous bicycle ride in which I climbed many hills in the area where I was then living. I was in much pain. My sister called a practitioner. Within half an hour I felt something in my body move upward. This happened again in a few minutes, and after that the pain lessened until it ceased. A slight sense of lameness soon disappeared. I was completely healed.
I am grateful for a happy marriage to a devoted student of Christian Science, who loved and lived its teachings.
In Science and Health Mrs. Eddy writes (p. 324), "The purification of sense and self is a proof of progress." I know that with the help of Christian Science I have made progress along these lines. I find a helpful guide in these words from Psalms (19:14): "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer."
Boston, Massachusetts
