Testimony of Healing January 30, 1971 Issue

Although I had been raised in Christian Science, I had left home...

Paul Sedan with contributions from Carl G. Sedan

Although I had been raised in Christian Science, I had left home at sixteen to seek my own path. This quest for self-knowledge had placed me in many bizarre circumstances. An early marriage that began with premarital pregnancy ended in divorce. Countless journeys I made to various parts of the country seeking peace of mind resulted in confusion. A rash of jobs provided me with a wealth of experience but no stability. Experimentation with mind-expanding drugs was made with the hope of finding some universal truth and sense of well-being. Finally my existence degenerated to an all-time low, and I found myself without a job, addicted to tobacco, and using alcohol, marijuana, and hallucinogenics as a release from the pressures. My only place to live was a boat, and my only companions were people engaged in the buying and selling of narcotics.

A previously suppressed sense of uneasiness started to blossom, and I accepted a full-time job in a nearby city hoping to make a return to the "straight" world. My job was interesting, and it allowed me to live at the office and save on rent. Previously I had always turned to material indulgences—a cigarette, a drink, or a drug—rather than seek a real solution to any problem. I felt now was the time to take a stand with God and turn to Him in prayer.

A friend, whom I greatly admired, had supplied me with some prior impetus by inviting me to Christian Science church services. Due to his good example of living what he knew to be the truth, I was inspired to begin daily study of the Lesson-Sermons in the Christian Science Quarterly and to attend a local branch church with regularity. I soon found the needed strength to cope with my life. Very soon after these beginnings I felt it right to move to another city. Once there, my thirst for God's direction was intensified, and I found increasing harmony in my daily affairs.

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