Testimony of Healing February 15, 1913 Issue

With sincere gratitude to God, infinite good, for all that...

J. C. Howell

With sincere gratitude to God, infinite good, for all that has come to me through Christian Science, and to Mrs. Eddy who prepared herself through years of study of the Bible to be the bearer of the glorious message embodied in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," I submit this chapter of the leading incidents in my experience, hoping it may encourage some suffering fellow being to seek and find "the Life that is Truth, and the Truth that is Life" (Science and Health, p. 97).

In 1857 I was attacked by what the doctors called liver complaint, and was treated for two years by three systems of medicine. Later, my case was diagnosed as acute stomach trouble, and I suffered from this complaint till 1906, sometimes better, sometimes worse, with oftentimes severe attacks of neuralgia, and had almost as many doctors as years. I also had three severe attacks of rheumatism, culminating in the most severe one in the spring of 1906. By this time I had pretty much lost faith in doctors, but my dear wife persisted in calling any doctor who was said to have any success with rheumatism. After suffering several weeks, I heard of a neighbor who had been sick a long time, about a year in bed, suddenly appearing on the street, well! As he was passing our house one morning, my wife called him in, and asked him what he had done to get well so quickly. He replied that he had taken Christian Science treatment. We had heard of Christian Science before, but had never met any one who had been entirely healed of a serious trouble. I at once said that I would like to have treatment, and as there was a practitioner in the village she came to our home at once. In a very short time I was entirely free from pain, was out attending to business in two weeks, clear of all disease, and have had no trouble with these ailments since.

The next June, that is, in 1907, I suffered a severe stroke of paralysis, could not walk, dress or undress, or even feed myself. A practitioner was speedily called, and soon the healing began. In about a week I could feed myself with a spoon, take a glass of water to my mouth, and walk with assistance. I then became very nervous and could only sleep for short, infrequent periods. Some one would read to me, often till after midnight, and I continued in this way for nearly three weeks. In the mean time my family were very restive; they insisted on calling a physician, as they claimed I was not improving. My grown children had come home, fearing I should pass on; but I held my faith in Science and resisted their appeals. Finally, they had gathered sympathizers in the parlor and were trying to devise some plan to have me accept the services of a physician, when the friend who had introduced the Christian Science practitioner called to spend the evening, as he often did. I told him of the pressure by my family and said it might be well to let a doctor come, to remove the anxiety on that score, but that I would not take his medicine, as I could surreptitiously dispose of it. He replied, "Do as you think best, it is for you to decide; for myself I would not do it." I answered at once, "Neither will I. Please step down to the parlor and tell them I will have no doctor, that I will go across the dark river first."

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