During my youth I was in good health

WÁSHINGTON VARELA with contributions from BLANCA MIRABALLES de VARELA, RAMÓN IZQUIERDO

During my youth I was in good health. Then, around the age of twenty, I developed severe symptoms of asthma. The condition grew progressively worse. At that time I had a friend who was hospitalized for a liver disorder. While in the hospital, he was visited by two Christian Scientists, who spoke of God's infinite goodness and how He loves and sustains His idea, man. I was told of their visit but didn't understand what they had said to my friend. (I had been taught to believe that God sends illness as a punishment one must endure.) The friend was healed of liver trouble, and to this date he has not returned to the hospital.

This person and a friend of his recommended I attend a Wednesday testimony meeting in a branch Church of Christ, Scientist. They assured me that good things were to be heard there. But in my heart I thought they were mistaken. I was convinced that the asthma afflicting me was for some sin that had been committed, either by myself or a relative. Feeling that I had this debt to pay through suffering, I stuck to my old religious beliefs, although my health continued to deteriorate. Still, I read the Bible a lot, especially the historical parts, which I found especially interesting. But I never read the psalms or the New Testament.

Twenty-five years went by in this way. Too ill to work, I was allowed to retire. This was how things stood until a woman who lived near our house—someone our family had deeply admired because of her warmth and joy—struck up a friendship with my wife. They spoke of religious matters, and the woman said she was a Christian Scientist. She explained how Science heals, adding that it could help my wife, who had a stomach problem.

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During my youth I was in good health

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