"The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are...

Eugenie Rusterholz

"The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad." We heard of the healing power of Christian Science for the first time in the autumn of 1913. Our little son had suffered from asthman, which had appeared from time to time, since earliest childhood. This time he had been lying in bed several weeks, and in spite of all medical assistance the fever and cough did not yield. Our attention was called to Christian Science, and we asked a practitioner for help. In a very few days the cough and fever had disappeared, and to our great joy the boy was well again. At this time we began attending the Christian Science Sunday services and the Wednesday evening testimony meetings, and soon afterward the boy began to attend the Sunday school.

In the spring of 1915 we had a severe trial. Our son, who was then at the age when he was obliged to attend school, was taken suddenly ill. The symptoms were very bad. He could not see or hear, and could neigher speak nor walk. I telephoned to the practitioner and asked for help, which was willingly given. Not understanding very much about Christian Science myself, and my husband being away on military service, I felt as if the whole responsibility rested upon me. I was therefore advised to call in a physician. He diagnosed the trouble as paralysis caused by whooping cough, and advised me to take the child to a hospital, as the nursing was very laborious and would take a very long time; it was even questionable if the boy would ever regain his physical and mental fitness, he said. The effect of this opinion upon me was that my confidence in materia medica received a great shock. I firmly refused to place the child away from my care, and trusted fully to the help of the Christian Science practitioner. The prescriptions ordered by the physician were not used. Thanks to the faithful, devoted work of the practitioner, the speech was restored the first night. I cannot describe the joy and happiness I felt as I was privileged to see how quickly the child was recovering. In a few days the boy could stand again; and a week later he was walking in the garden. There were no bad after effects. The boy is a good scholar, and an earnest Sunday school pupil, who is learning to apply the truth.

Since then Christian Science has helped us in all our affairs. In the winter of 1918, when the grippe broke out, I was stricken with it. I met it as well as I understood how, but finally had to go to bed. My husband asked for help, which we needed very much, for I had lost consciousness. With the help rendered by the practitioner, I regained consciousness; and in a week I was healed. All my striving and thinking was then directed to my progress in Christian Science; all my spare time I used in studying the Bible, the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy, and Der Herold der Christian Science. But the more I studied, the more difficulties I seemed to have. However, I had such an earnest desire to come out of the darkness into the light of spiritual understanding that my desire was fulfilled. I realized that up to then I had believed more in sickness than in God, and understood that we must give up all faith in another power beside God,—sin, disease, and death included. It took quite a long time to cast fear and beliefs of disease out of my consciousness and to replace them with the right understanding of the activity of the one divine power. Now I can joyously say I am free from fear, sleeplessness, and oppression of the heart.

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