There comes a time for all of us to decide where we will put our trust. Will it be in God or in mammon? I too had to take such a stand. I often look at this as a turning point in my life. It was the time I knew that the study of Christian Science was the only way.

As a young girl I had attended several different types of Sunday Schools. I remember that the teachings and methods never quite satisfied me. Then my mother took up the study of Christian Science; and she enrolled my sisters, my brother, and me in the Christian Science Sunday School. I found the satisfaction that I had missed before. My father, however, disagreed strongly with the teachings. He always had medicines on hand for us to use if he felt that a healing had not or would not come soon enough.

Quick and permanent healings always came through our prayers, with no aid from medicine, after sole reliance on Christian Science. One of these was my healing of headaches. This was my first stand in Christian Science and the turning point for me.

Often after several hours of having my nose in a book I would find I had a severe headache. I remember sneaking into the medicine chest and eating some of the sweet-tasting pills for children. I would tell myself that I was eating them for the taste, hoping the whole time that they would rid me of the throbbing in my head. The headache would eventually go away, but was almost sure to return the next time I read a book.

One day I finally realized I could no longer mix reliance on God and pills and get permanent results. Mrs. Eddy says in Science and Health (p. 346): "Material beliefs must be expelled to make room for spiritual understanding. We cannot serve both God and mammon at the same time; but is not this what frail mortals are trying to do?"

I lay down, thinking about this. I decided to take my stand. I would work it out through the only way—Christian Science. I said "the scientific statement of being" from Science and Health (p.468) to myself, going over each line, pondering to understand it. I also remember drifting off to sleep declaring my unity with God as His child. When I awoke the headache was gone. I have never suffered from one again.

Not long after completing college I had another opportunity to prove God's love. I found myself equipped with a teaching credential, but few jobs were available in the market. I was scheduled to go east for the summer where I would need to find a temporary job and a place to live. I planned to return home about a week before school was to start. I knew it was time to really understand my true purpose and employment. I dug deep into the two textbooks, the Bible and Science and Health, and grew to understand what Mrs. Eddy says (Science and Health, p. 326), "The purpose and motive to live aright can be gained now." I knew that right now my only purpose and employment were to better express God. With this uppermost in thought I set off for the East Coast. I got the needed job and was able to save enough to live there for the summer and pay my way home. An added bonus was extra money when I returned so that I could rent a place of my own. Shortly after returning, I heard about a job opening in a nearby district. I quickly applied and had the job two days later. It was when I really prayed "God's will be done, not mine," and knew that God really does love me, that my freedom came.

Reliance on God has brought many healings. Needs of income have been met, human relationships cleared up, toothaches dissolved, and illnesses healed by spiritual understanding of this Science of being.

Remembering these healings, I have often been reassured of God's love and care in times of trial. I am deeply grateful for the tools that I acquired through class instruction. With them I can better understand and demonstrate God's laws and truth. I am also grateful for the fact that spiritual healings are permanent! My love for God and the way of Life that I have found in Christian Science can never be shaken. For the joy of being a student of Christian Science and all that I have learned and am learning, I am most deeply grateful.

(Miss) Char-lee Lavrakas
Whittier, California