Testimony of Healing October 25, 1919 Issue

Christian Science has meant everything to me, and it is...

Mary Seymour Stryker

Christian Science has meant everything to me, and it is with a deep sense of gratitude that I testify to the healing I have had through seeking "first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness," as taught in the Scriptures and in Mrs. Eddy's writings. Notwithstanding the fact that my home environment had always been such that I never knew what it was to lack anything I needed, yet I had grown into such a state of mind that I realized no person or material diversion could ever bring me the longed-for peace. This condition had been growing on me for some time, for when I was attending college a physician told me I had neurasthenia. I surely found, if anyone ever did, that "fear hath torment," being so bound by it that I felt practically helpless after leaving school, so far as ever being able to do as others did.

Divine Love was, however, leading me all the time, though little did I realize it when circumstances took me quite a distance from my home. I came to realize the meaning of Mrs. Eddy's words (Science and Health, p. 574), "The very circumstance, which your suffering sense deems wrathful and afflictive, Love can make an angel entertained unawares." With the help of a Christian Science practitioner and my own efforts (for I soon learned that it was not right to expect the practitioner to do all the work) the mist cleared away and this false sense of self was gradually replaced by the right concept, and as a result for more than four years I have experienced a freedom that I had never known before. I have had the proof of my ability to work as others do and have enjoyed greater activity and a much more useful life.

During this time many erroneous conditions have been overcome, one of which was an enlargement of the neck which had been quite noticeable ever since I was a little girl. I used to suffer every winter with very severe colds, from which, many times, I would not be entirely free until the spring; also every little exertion tired me to such an extent that I would lie down a great deal during the day and take naps sometimes for two or three hours at a time, only to awaken with a sense of being anything but refreshed. In fact, the more I slept the more I wanted to sleep, until I began to awaken in the true way, and with this right mental activity began the harmonious working out of many discordant conditions. We read in Science and Health (p. 447), "The recuperative action of the system, when mentally sustained by Truth, goes on naturally." During the epidemic of influenza I realized what a beautiful and complete healing of this trouble I had when I heard others, who had medical treatment, tell of how long the weakened conditions lasted, for I experienced none of these after effects. An attack of mumps was overcome in about two days.

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