How I Found Christian Science September 1, 2014 Issue

By the grace of God

Marilyn McPherson

I was raised in the Christian Science Sunday School but drifted away after high school during the social upheavals of the ’60s. After a decade of experimentation with elements of the counterculture, I began searching for a better sense of identity and purpose.

I met my husband in group therapy, and we started a family. I briefly took my young daughter to the Christian Science Sunday School, but I didn’t form an enduring bond with the church. Yet I continued to be a spiritual seeker. I read books on personal growth and took courses that I hoped would lead to lasting happiness and confidence, but nothing did.

One day in 1994, while browsing in a bookstore, I saw a book by a meditation teacher, which I bought and read. I took up the methods suggested by the author, sitting in quiet surroundings and repeating/pondering memorized passages from the wisdom traditions of the world.