In 1949 I was in a state of despondency after all material aids and the help of physicians had failed to heal me of a nervous breakdown and other ailments. One afternoon the words "Christian Science" kept coming to me. A neighbor, who was a student, had once invited me to a Christian Science lecture and to visit a Christian Science Reading Room. Now I felt impelled to call on her, and she talked with me about God and assured me of His constant love and care for His children. She gave me several copies of the Christian Science Sentinel and a copy of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. For the next two weeks I did little else but read this book.
The healing of the nervous trouble came slowly. Mrs. Eddy states in Science and Health (p. 265), "This scientific sense of being, forsaking matter for Spirit, by no means suggests man's absorption into Deity and the loss of his identity, but confers upon man enlarged individuality, a wider sphere of thought and action, a more expansive love, a higher and more permanent peace." I frequently pondered this passage, as I felt there was healing in it for me.
Then one day I saw a need for a more spiritualized love for my family as well as the whole world. As I began to make progress in this direction, I began to feel calm and peaceful, and to see beauty all around me. My healing of the nervous condition was complete and permanent. After spending many days and nights in fear, this healing was a blessed one. Gallbladder attacks began to lessen, and they eventually disappeared as I continued to study and to love more. Hymns 64 and 148 from the Christian Science Hymnal were a constant source of comfort, and I would sing them on errands or while doing housework.
