Early one morning as I was praying after thoughtful study of the Bible Lesson In the Christian Science Quarterly. and after reading an issue of the Christian Science Sentinel, a startling question came to thought. Do you really love the periodicals? Of course I love them, I thought. How often over many, many years had some especially thought-provoking article lifted me out of discouragement or despair to new confidence and finally to healing! Many times I've watched eagerly for the arrival of the Journal and the Sentinel.
I remembered particularly a time just after the birth of our second child when I went through a deep and frightening depression. I was plagued with an overwhelming sense of inadequacy. For more than three months I struggled with sleeplessness. I feared the daylight hours when my husband was at work and I had the sole care of two very small children. I had no sympathetic neighbors and no close relatives upon whom to call. Pride kept me from confiding in fellow Christian Scientists in my new church home and from calling upon the services of a Christian Science practitioner. (I have since learned the wisdom of Mrs. Eddy's counsel in Science and Health "If students do not readily heal themselves, they should early call an experienced Christian Scientist to aid them." Science and Health, p. 420.
Interestingly, I was never tempted to seek a medical remedy. Having been raised as a Christian Scientist, I had learned from a very early age that prayer and trust in God's unswerving goodness are the most effective aids to healing. I knew that all would be well through prayer based on an understanding of God and His perfect spiritual creation.
