Hymn No. 258 in the Christian Science Hymnal expresses my gratitude for many healings that came as I chose to rely on God. We surmounted each challenge that arose in our family, from financial and physical problems to fears that arose during the great Depression and World War II. We did this by choosing to trust in Truth rather than error.
When I was eight I was stricken with infantile paralysis, and at first was completely paralyzed. A few months later, after doctors had said they could do no more for me, my mother took me to see a Christian Science practitioner. (My sister and I had been taken occasionally to different denominational Sunday Schools, and one of them was in a Christian Science church. From that contact, I had asked for and received a small copy of Science and Health and a Bible.)
At the time we first saw the practitioner, I was walking with crutches and had a brace on each leg. This practitioner introduced me to Mary Baker Eddy's wonderful article entitled "Angels," found in her book Miscellaneous Writings (see pp. 306-307), and to the ninety-first Psalm. I remember feeling so comforted in knowing that divine Love is an ever-present help to man. I truly felt the presence of God's power in my heart, stilling fear. The practitioner prayed for me and also gave me other references, which I studied at home.
