"He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy...

Freeman S. Sargent

"He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways" (Ps. 91:11). This verse has been a firm foundation for me all my life. I was blessed by having parents who had begun to study Christian Science before I was born. During my childhood, school days, and college years, I was always protected and directed by my parents' prayerful work. My recollections of the depression of the 1930's included many instances when my mother's firm stand for Principle brought us daily supplies.

It was not until postcollege days that wartime activities made me realize more clearly than ever that I must do my own prayerful mental work. No matter how lovingly my mother would endeavor to protect me, I still must work out my own problems. During the Second World War, I turned to God for guidance and was led to take whatever steps were needed to improve a situation.

Marriage and the rearing of a family brought added experiences along with great joy in the knowledge that Christian Science does meet our needs. A position and activity in Europe brought further spiritual growth. A physical difficulty presented itself. It was not diagnosed, therefore not named. It was serious, and it was not healed quickly. My own constant prayer and study and the Christian Science treatment I received brought temporary relief, but the difficulty along with a great sense of fear and depression recurred periodically.

This statement from "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy brought me much encouragement (pp. 470, 471): "The relations of God and man, divine Principle and idea, are indestructible in Science; and Science knows no lapse from nor return to harmony, but holds the divine order or spiritual law, in which God and all that He creates are perfect and eternal, to have remained unchanged in its eternal history."

The suggestion that the heart can make man live or die needed to be replaced with the understanding that God alone is Life and that man, God's expression, is not dependent on brain, heart, nerves, or muscles for existence. One day while I was reading an article in one of the Christian Science periodicals, a statement brought me up quickly to realize that the very fact that I was a conscious identity was proof that God is my Life. I knew that the Christ, Truth, as demonstrated by Jesus is universally resurrecting mankind. I could not be happy and healthy one minute and depressed and fearful the next. Christian Science does heal, and this was proved by my complete recovery.

I am grateful for the fact that my children are enrolled in the Christian Science Sunday School, for membership in The Mother Church as well as in a branch church, and for class instruction.

Freeman S. Sargent, Richmond, California

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