As long as I can remember, I have loved God and have felt His love for me. The numerous healings I have experienced through Christian Science since childhood have served as both a "rod" and a "staff" for me, providing me with discipline and care. I remember as a youngster feeling God's comfort whenever I was healed of the effects of accidents and illnesses. I gained a trust in God that brought me through greater challenges as I grew up. Some of my later healings include those of a leg infection, a foot injury, and a disfiguring eye condition.
One healing experience taught me how to improve my character while the physical healing was taking place. A skin disease appeared over much of my body. This prompted more dedicated prayer and study of Christian Science on my part. Also, I was supported by the prayerful treatment of a Christian Science practitioner. During this period I learned wonderful spiritual lessons. I learned not to fear things that God didn't create and that couldn't be a legitimate part of my experience, such as incurability or personal inadequacies. Instead, I had to see that these could be overcome through an understanding of the perfection of God's creation. Most of all, I learned clearly that God's love for man is constant.
One day I had an opportunity to feel more consciously the presence of God's love. After some time of struggle and prayer, I was saddened by what appeared to be a setback. I wondered, "How could God possibly love this wretched me?" As soon as those words were formed in thought, I felt the absurdity of such a question. I knew immediately that God didn't love any mortal misery but He did love me the way He made me—in His own image! I saw that a loving God would never have made me subject to disease, and that's when I gained a deeper insight into man's true selfhood as a child of God.
