Testimony of Healing March 14, 1936 Issue

Following illness with first one thing and then another,...

Myrtle A. Walling with contributions from Jean Walling

Following illness with first one thing and then another, I had two operations, but was worse rather than better. Then the medical pronouncement of advanced active tuberculosis was made. For the first six months I went away to a tubercular sanitarium. The depressing things I saw and heard were the finishing touch, and I came home in a state of nervous collapse, presumably to die. Christian Science was offered to me, but I thought it could do nothing for me. Then, as my mental condition became so bad that I was in a perpetual state of hysteria, I sent for a practitioner, being very careful to explain to her that I wanted only to have my thinking helped so that I would be cheerful until the end.

It seemed to me that my healing was slow, and there were many times when I felt that I could not hold on. At such times my husband would say, "Where else can you go? What has brought as much good to you as you have found since turning to Christian Science?" And so I would go on, trying to understand. The first verse I held to was from Psalms: "I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord." The practitioner pointed out to me that there were three decided things for me to do: refuse to die, insist upon life, and prove God's power by manifesting health. It was such a big task, and seemed like such a glorious thing to do, that I decided to get busy. To help me realize that I could do it, she gave me the verse from Philippians, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." So, equipped with these two verses, my battle started.

When I really began to try to understand and practice Christian Science myself, to help the practitioner in her work, I found that I should have to learn how to pray aright. For weeks I merely used the Lord's Prayer, which I knew was right, for our Master had given it to us. Then I added the "Daily Prayer" as given in the Manual of The Mother Church by Mrs. Eddy (Article VIII, Sect. 4). So with these as my only prayers I started out, reading the Lesson-Sermon as given in the Christian Science Quarterly every day, and some of the periodicals, and trying to read a few pages of Science and Health consecutively.

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