To the praise of God, and out of gratitude to Christian Science...

Luise Bertsch

To the praise of God, and out of gratitude to Christian Science, I wish to give the following account of my experience since accepting its teachings one year ago. I suffered with a serious trouble in the left foot, designated by the physicians, tuberculosis of the leg. This disease seemed to have fastened itself upon me, for three years before it had manifested itself in the other foot. I was laid up for fifteen months in a surgical institution at the time, and was in the hands of the best physicians. All that medical skill could offer was resorted to, but without success. After five very painful operations the foot was amputated, in order, as the physicians said, to save my life, if nothing else. One may imagine how hopeless I felt when indications of the trouble then became evident in the other foot. There was practically no hope of my recovery, as the physicians (this I knew for a certainty) were unable to help me. The thought that my husband would be confronted with difficulties and that my children might soon lose their mother, added to the depression and sadness of my condition. I often prayed to God to save me for my children's sake. My prayer was answered when some time after I was led to Christian Science.

I had told my sorrows by letter to an old-time friend, and she wrote me that I could be healed through Christian Science, and sent me several copies of Der Herold der Christian Science. I read this literature with the keenest interest, and a sense of peace soon came to me. My thoughts drifted into other channels, and although I could not grasp all that was presented to me at first, still I trusted that I would be able to effect my own healing. The sense of fear, however, which seemed hardest to overcome, made progress impossible. The trouble increased, and there were alarming conditions, while dreadful pain kept me from maintaining the right mental attitude. Though entreated by my relatives to call a physician, I emphatically declined to do so. However, when I saw that my understanding was not yet adequate to meet the conditions, I asked a Christian Science practitioner for help. Present treatment was given during the first ten days, followed by absent treatment. After the first three days the pain had almost entirely disappeared, and I seemed to suffer only when walking. I looked into the future with a sense of new hope and was very grateful for this ray of divine light.

It seems, however, that I did not guard my thought sufficiently, for a couple of weeks later I suffered a relapse. Still, the conviction was with me that God's truth is more powerful than all error. I made an earnest use of the thoughts which the practitioner conveyed through her letters and continuously declared God's omnipotence and the nothingness of matter. A struggle began, error being confronted with Truth. The more I relied upon the truth, the more severe was the form assumed by error. During these days the words of Isaiah proved a source of strength to me: "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." The struggle did not prove in vain, for God was the victor. In about a week's time the pain left, never to return, but the wounds were not yet healed. This gave no rise to fear on my part, as I knew that with increasing understanding these erroneous symptoms would also vanish.

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