SINCE I WAS A TEENAGER, I'd suffered with severe cramps and other symptoms accompanying my monthly period. I prayed on and off about this, with some results, but I still struggled with being basically out of commission for at least a day every month. This was inconvenient, as it often interfered with school and with family trips. But worse, I felt terrified every time that part of my cycle rolled around.
One morning, when I was a freshman in college, I was once again dreading my period. I imagined all the severe symptoms I usually experienced that could last for hours. I could already see myself missing my classes and meals for the day. Sure enough, almost immediately after picturing them, I began to experience those very symptoms. That's odd, I remember thinking. As soon as I thought it, I experienced it. That's when I began to see the very clear connection between my thoughts and my physical condition. They were so connected. And yet, I knew from my study of Christian Science that only infinite good, God, could govern my thoughts and, therefore, my experience.
I decided to spend some time in my dorm room, praying about this issue in a more specific way than I ever had before. As I prayed, I had such a desire to listen to God's side of the story. Was this condition coming from Him? How did he really see me at this moment? I yielded my thought to the truths I was learning about in Christian Science—that my being was not both material and spiritual. That God knew nothing about suffering and, therefore, could not create it. I also challenged the belief that I had to tolerate this condition.
