I'd never read the Bible. It just didn't seem important. Through the years, in tight spots, I lobbed a few desperate prayers heavenward but with no idea of what I was praying to or really whether prayer helped. Divine was a word to describe delicious desserts. You might say I had a blank religious slate, not having thought enough about God even to call myself an atheist.
Religion wasn't practiced in our family. My parents' religious heritage doesn't embrace Christianity, and I didn't quite know what Christianity was about. So, for me to be able to say that I've found healing and happiness in following Christ Jesus' teachings testifies to quite a journey from a world where spiritual ideas were deemed unnecessary.
Although our home was loving and I don't think I was a "bad" person, I still reaped the anguish (not bliss!) of being ignorant of spiritual truth. Looking back, I can see that the times I suffered most were due to mistaken morals and an emphasis on material things, which has since changed. Yet, all the while, almost without realizing it, I was searching for something higher. I guess that's why clear concepts about God and man and prayer that I found in my first look at Christian Science became very dear to me. And I was amazed to learn that the spiritual healing Jesus did and taught his disciples to do is possible now —healing that enters into every corner of our lives.
