Christian Science Sunday School was dear to me growing up, and I loved learning about Mary Baker Eddy in class. I remember bringing questions to my teachers and receiving complete and satisfying answers, sometimes involving extensive research on their part! This learning in Sunday School proved to be a refuge for me in life.
My father passed away when I was very young, leaving me lonely and fearful. Later on, marriage was difficult. It was then that I began to deeply study the Bible and Science and Health, and to read biographies of Mrs. Eddy. Learning of the many challenges she encountered—chronic illness; loss of her first husband, mother, and brother; the inability to care for her child; disappointment in her second marriage; homelessness; and her prayer-filled, unselfed love, endless patience, and forgiveness—gave me strength to carry on. Inspired by her ultimate triumph, I took each problem to God for healing, and this proved effective.
Instead of tripping and falling flat with each stumbling block, I learned to face challenges courageously and turn them into steppingstones. Each steppingstone was a spiritual victory that brought me closer to God. Mrs. Eddy wrote in Science and Health, “Step by step will those who trust Him find that ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble’ ” (p. 444). That was my experience.
