"O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth" (Ps. 96:1). How surely this beautiful psalm mirrors my gratitude for Christian Science. Coming from what is called a broken family, I have found that understanding God as perfect Father-Mother has grown more meaningful each year. It has taught me that there is indeed one "universal family, held in the gospel of Love" (Science and Health, p. 577). And this truth has brought much peace and progress.
As a high-school sophomore I came to live with my mother, who sent my sister and me to the Christian Science Sunday School. Although I didn't know it at the time, I was ready for the beginning of a "new birth." Blessed with some talents, but unstable and confused, I found that the teaching I received in Sunday School began a lifelong leavening process. There were struggles with inconsistency and self-centeredness, but, gradually, Truth strengthened my understanding. At one time during my senior year, I quit school and went to live with my dad in another state. This was an unwise and impulsive move. But, through the prayers of my family and Sunday School teacher, I realized that I must return to finish high school. This I did with real blessings in both academic and musical activities.
During three years of service in the Army paratroopers in World War II, I experienced remarkable protection. Here again, much prayer supported me. The Mother Church kept track of my location, and, at one time, while I was taking jump training in New Guinea, I received correspondence from an Australian Wartime Minister. This loving contact from my Church was very encouraging! Later, I came out unscathed from an artillery barrage in Southern Luzon in the Philippines. I know that this protection was the result of prayer.
