Like many persons before me, I have found that gratitude is a most important attitude in the study of Christian Science, and a very necessary part of one's progress Spiritward. An event before I became a member of a branch church or of The Mother Church had such an effect on my life that I want to relate it in the hope that it will help some other newcomer to the study of Christian Science. This incident was an important step leading to the elimination of the need for eyeglasses mentioned later in this testimony.

While I was traveling on a crooked mountain road, my car quit running and stopped on a narrow, blind curve. Following a few minutes of prayer I saw how I could get the car off the road. When the car was safely off the road, I walked a short distance to the bank of a stream and said, "Father, what do I do now?" Subsequent to a period of prayer the answer came to me to try to start the car. I tried and it started, not too readily, but it ran sufficiently for me to finish the remaining fifty miles of my trip.

When the repair work was done on the car, the mechanic who worked on it asked me how I had got the car to the garage. When he was told it was driven in, he said that was impossible, and he showed me that the ignition points were completely burned off.

In the little community where this occurred, Wednesday evening testimony meetings are held on the first and third Wednesdays of each month. This was a night when there was a meeting, and I was most happy to be able to attend.

The statement by Christ Jesus (John 8:32) "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" was written on the wall of the church. The meaning of that statement was illuminated for me that night as though someone had turned on a light.

That experience was the start of joyous progress in my understanding and application of Christian Science. Included in this progress has been the joy of class instruction and the opportunity to serve as First Reader of a branch church.

The healing of my eyesight, which resulted in the elimination of the glasses I had worn constantly for over thirty years, occurred instantaneously. I realize now that this healing came rapidly as a result of accepting the fact that man is perfect now. The thought expressed in II Corinthians (6:2) "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" appeared in the Christian Science Quarterly weekly Lesson-Sermon. On Saturday morning, after having studied the lesson all week, I took off my glasses and laid them on the table, never to use them again.

I know now that the realization and acceptance of the fact that the real man is now, always has been, and always will be perfect heals. The real man does not need to achieve perfection, because we are told in Genesis 1:27: "God created man."

It was important in this healing, as in all healings, that the real identity of man be established. This real identity is clearly brought out by Mrs. Eddy in what is known as "the scientific statement of being" whose concluding words are (Science and Health, p. 468): "Spirit is God, and man is His image and likeness. Therefore man is not material; he is spiritual."

I am most grateful for the teachings of the Master, Christ Jesus, and for the illumination of these teachings by Mrs. Eddy in her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.

Vincent L. Armstrong
Medford, Oregon

It is with great joy that I can verify my husband's testimony. He laid his eyeglasses aside in obedience to the command "Now is the accepted time" and has not worn them since. That was six years ago.

(Mrs.) Marguerite Armstrong