In the summer of 1931 our little daughter, then eight...

In the summer of 1931 our little daughter, then eight years old, was suddenly taken ill. Although she had been a regular attendant at the Christian Science Sunday School, my husband and I had never attended the church; therefore our fear was so great, as her fever rose and she became unconscious, that after telephoning for a Christian Science practitioner we also called a doctor. The doctor arrived a short time before the practitioner, and after an examination he informed us that it was infantile paralysis, and the child would have to be taken to the county hospital the next day. Just before the practitioner came the child had convulsions and was slowly getting worse. I shall never forget how I felt when the practitioner came in, for her calmness and love instantly helped me and the fear vanished. When the doctor went downstairs to telephone, she knelt down beside our little girl and talked quietly to her—the quivering of her body soon ceased, and in a short time the fever had subsided. When the doctor returned to arrange for a nurse and to make plans for the removal to the hospital the next day he was greatly surprised at the change. I explained who had been with the child, and as he evidently had had experience with the practitioner's work before, he seemed to understand. The practitioner remained with the child for over an hour, continuing to talk softly, and soon the child was repeating the Lord's Prayer, after which she went quietly to sleep.

The practitioner worked through that night, knowing that the county health officer was to come with the doctor the next day, and she assured us that the doctors would find nothing wrong, as God was guarding and guiding. The child was herself the next morning with the exception of weakness. When the doctors came, the child refused to let them give her anything, so we explained that she was a Christian Scientist. They gave her a very rigid examination and found absolutely nothing wrong. The county physician said, "She is one hundred per cent," and seemed a little annoyed at being called, as he had been told it was a serious case. They did not take her to the hospital. In less than two weeks she was playing around and went back to Sunday school.

I am very grateful for this healing. As our daughter earnestly practices the truth taught her in Sunday school, we read and study together, and each day I am gaining a little more wisdom and understanding and am trying to follow in Christ Jesus' footsteps. In our home we are proving the Bible statement, "A little child shall lead them," and have learned to rely on Truth for all things.

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