I have quite often glanced through The Christian Science Journal and the Christian Science Sentinel before reading anything to see if any of the testimonies were from Australia, never thinking that I could write one myself. However, of late I have felt the urge to do something more than just look for testimonies from others.

I was brought into the study of Science by loving parents at a very early age because of my poor health and deafness. During early childhood I had many healings, and although the healing of deafness did not come quickly, it was accomplished.

My school life was unmarred by absence through illness, and also my office career of seven years was carried through without even a half-day's absence.

I grew up in the Sunday School, making many lovely and lasting friendships. There were problems, of course, but all were solved speedily. After marriage in 1933 I moved to England, where I lived until 1946; but I still did not do my own prayerful work. It took the jolt of losing our first child to awaken me to the fact that I must do my own work and not rely on my stepmother, who was a devoted practitioner, to do it for me.

During the years of my true awakening I studied quite earnestly at times, but I allowed the thought of lack of time to engulf me to the extent of not finding time to study our Christian Science Quarterly Lesson-Sermons consistently. And over the years after our return to Australia the deafness I had as a babe returned to such a marked degree that it became quite embarrassing because I was now working with the public, and I had to ask people to repeat their orders more than once.

At this time I seemed to have practically no time at all for study; and, on top of the condition of deafness, I became very ill and unable to help myself. The others in the family were so busy in business that they could not stay home and look after me; so my father and my stepmother took me into their home and cared for me. My stepmother, who was acting as my practitioner, pointed out to me that "man's extremity is God's opportunity," and during the next few days this was proved true.

This malady, whatever it was, made my body swell. My sight was also impaired, and at one stage I seemed to be quite near death. However, constant prayer on the practitioner's part had its effect; and after three or four days I was able to return home and take up my normal duties (which called upon me to be on my feet more than twelve hours a day) without any sense of going slower or convalescing. I cannot say just when my hearing became normal; but it must have been during this experience, which took place in 1960.

These words from page 578 of Science and Health by our Leader, part of her spiritual interpretation of the twenty-third Psalm, have always been a great help to me: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for [love] is with me; [love's] rod and [love's] staff they comfort me." Truly they were a comfort to me during the aforementioned experience.

This healing enabled me to see things more in their right perspective, troubles my husband and I were having with our two sons dissolved, and lack of time for church attendance fell away. We were able to sell the business and go back into our own trade. This gave us more normal hours of work and enabled us to become members of the local Christian Science Society and to take part in church activities once more.

During the years of the Second World War, we lived in London, and I am grateful for the many instances when correct spiritual thinking enabled us to live a fairly normal life. I am grateful for membership in The Mother Church and in a Christian Science Society, for the privilege of serving in some small way the Cause of Christian Science, and for the blessing of class instruction. And I cannot close without saying that I am grateful for our literature and for the wonderful foresight of our beloved Leader in providing for such things.— (Mrs.) Phyllis J. Buckley, Emu Plains, New South Wales, Australia.