Christian Science has been the way of Life to me from infancy. My parents were devout students, and their conscientious living of this wonderful religion was a guide and protection to me during early childhood and the teen-age years. I am very grateful to them for their dedication to Christian Science and their patient and untiring devotion to me. I have experienced many beautiful healings in Christian Science and witnessed many others, but an experience I had some years ago has been so continuously helpful to me that I feel impelled to share it with others.

At the beginning of the Second World War we were obliged to change our comfortable and happy way of living, as did so many others. We had to move to another city, sell our home, leave our branch church and many friends, and find a new home, all within a very short time. Everything seemed to be a big problem, and I found myself becoming quite tense and unhappy. As a student of Christian Science I knew what to do about this and proceeded to give myself a prayerful treatment, including the whole experience in that treatment. We found an apartment in another city, but although the move was made harmoniously, I still felt tense, rebellious, and unhappy.

Shortly after we moved into our new home I attended a nearby Christian Science lecture. One thought the lecturer expressed early in his talk caught my attention completely. It was that it is a good thing to take a short time each day to look for signs of God's presence everywhere, drop one's problems, one's family's problems and patients' problems, and just look to God.

I thought about this during the night, and the next morning when I went to market, I decided I would follow through on the lecturer's recommendation. As I stepped into the street, a little dog came up to me, joyous and friendly. Then he ran to his master in obedience to a shrill whistle. I thought of the joy, love, and obedience expressed—all qualities of God indicative of His presence. At the corner I noticed a beautiful baby in a carriage. The child smiled, and I saw that here were evidenced the love, innocency, purity, and beauty of Love. I continued in this way for several blocks. The world seemed very friendly; everyone was smiling.

I finally arrived at a fish market. I went to the oyster bar to purchase oysters and was dismayed to be greeted by a frowning man who said at once that he was very sick. I murmured some compassionate words, but he brushed them off and asked what I wanted. I gave my order, and then he said that oysters had gone up in price. I accepted this and asked him to shuck them. He said he would but would now have to charge for this service (given freely before). I agreed and said I was grateful to get such fine oysters each time. To this he responded with the pessimistic remark that I would not get any next week because it was a bad winter— too much ice. For a moment I was stopped. The challenge was great, however, and I felt I must find proof of God somewhere in this market.

I glanced back at the man and saw him starting to shuck the oysters. I noticed the deftness and ease with which he performed the task and noted especially a great sense of rhythm. The word "rhythm" flooded my waiting thought. I turned away and realized that this was a quality of God Mrs. Eddy spoke of frequently. Many of her statements containing this word came to me, and I forgot my surroundings including the sick man. One statement I recall was (Science and Health, p. 510): "How much more should we seek to apprehend the spiritual ideas of God, than to dwell on the objects of sense! To discern the rhythm of Spirit and to be holy, thought must be purely spiritual." Another statement of Mrs. Eddy's on pages 82 and 83 in Miscellaneous Writings bringing out the spiritual significance of rhythm is: "Immortal Mind is God, immortal good; in whom the Scripture saith 'we live, and move, and have our being.' This Mind, then, is not subject to growth, change, or diminution, but is the divine intelligence, or Principle, of all real being; holding man forever in the rhythmic round of unfolding bliss, as a living witness to and perpetual idea of inexhaustible good."

I became engrossed in the glorious truths that were flooding my consciousness. They were indeed angel thoughts pointing to God's presence, and I felt them in every fiber of my being. I had forgotten everything apparent to the material senses, including the sick oysterman. Suddenly I heard myself called and there he was, but what a change! He was all smiles and said at once, "Lady, I don't know what has happened to me, but I feel fine, better than I ever felt in my life." I was so grateful that I could not speak but simply smiled. As I paid him, he said, "Oysters have gone up, yes, but not until 12 o'clock and since it is only 11.45, you get the old price." I thanked him and asked how much the shucking price was. He said there would be no charge. "That was just my sickness talking. I have bushels of oysters to shuck, so why should I charge you for two dozen?" Then he leaned over the counter and said, "And as for getting oysters next week and all winter, you just come right to me. You'll have them."

With what scientific exactness Truth reversed each erroneous statement !

I was deeply grateful for this experience. And as I continued daily to yield to the presence of God, all tenseness over the change in my own experience disappeared and joy returned.

My heart is filled with love and gratitude to the revelator of Truth to this age, Mrs. Eddy, for the work she has done and for her great revelation, Christian Science.

(Mrs.) Grace M. Longan
New York, New York