It is high time I gave my testimony of gratitude for blessings received through the study of Christian Science. I was brought up in a household where this Science was taught and practiced. The books from which I learned to read were copies of the Bible and the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy. When I was small, my parents read me the Bible Lesson (outlined in the Christian Science Quarterly). I also attended a Christian Science Sunday School.
In my teens I was friendly with other teen-agers who were not Christian Scientists. But their ways were not always my ways. My friends were smoking, even drinking a little, and I felt I was the odd one out on social occasions. I thought perhaps I should emulate them to some extent, and once I attempted to smoke a cigarette. But common sense made me realize as I coughed and spluttered that trying to cultivate such a stupid and costly habit was certainly not for me. Also, smoking made me feel ashamed, as I knew it was not in accord with the teachings of Christian Science.
However, I did enjoy my friends' parties, which were sometimes a bit on the wild side. Yet, there again, I was often the odd one out, neither drinking nor smoking, and not attending parties on a Wednesday or a Sunday because of church.
