The greatest benefit that I attribute directly to the understanding of God, given to me in studying Christian Science, is freedom—the freedom affirmed in the passage: "Know, then, that you posses sovereign power to think and act rightly, and that nothing can dispossess you of this heritage and trespass on Love" (Pulpit and Press by Mary Baker Eddy, p. 3).

After my marriage, following several years with no prospects of having children, the idea of adoption was presented to my husband and me. At first I could not accept this; I was so certain that healing meant only that I would bear a child. But as I prayed, and studied references to Life and creation in the Bible and in Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, my viewpoint changed.

Following a move to a distant city, I joined a Christian Science church for the first time. My husband and I together visited a practitioner; we both desired to attain a clearer understanding of God as Life. I recall a verse from Isaiah that the practitioner quoted with such authority: "The Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannual it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back? (14:27) We soon found that we lived within a few blocks of a well-known adoption agency. We were most welcome to apply, and the subsequent adoptions of a baby boy and then a baby girl brought the fulfillment of the family we had been praying to recognize we could not be deprived of.

When our son was in second grade, the family traveled by car to visit relatives in a distant state. While we were at a motel, he fell on a metal stake that marked a hole for miniature golf. My husband brought him to our room, where we bandaged the wound on his thigh, very close to the groin, that was bleeding profusely. We called a practitioner to pray for him and to support our prayers for guidance.

We were able to continue on with the trip, tending to our son's needs as we prayed. This child was always a very active youngster, and shared the back seat of the car with his younger sister. It was two more days before we were home, but with the help of the practitioner's prayer, it was a most harmonious journey. Our son remained active and free from discomfort, as the complete healing of this apparently serious injury took place quickly.

One spring afternoon, when our daughter was about eight, she was out riding her bicycle with a friend. I received a phone call from the friend's mother, saying that our daughter had been hit by an automobile a few blocks away. I remember my answer to that mother—because my words even surprised me—"Kris is all right." I called a practitioner of Christian Science for immediate prayer, and then proceeded to our daughter. She had been thrown over the hood of the car by the impact and shattered the windshield. The police had arrived, and they were most kind—albeit surprised—when I asked to take the child home.

I recall praying for her and looking up references to consciousness in Science and Health. Our daughter slept through the night, and when she woke in the morning, there was no evidence of any injury or effects of the accident.

During a time when I was both a full-time student and a homemaker, it first became my habit to rise early, ahead of the rest of the household, for the purpose of reading the Bible Lesson. I found I could not face the challenges of each day without this spiritual study! My husband had provided me with cassette tapes of Science and Health, and as I drove to school I would listen to the chapter "Prayer." I never tired of listening to it, and it seemed to have an answer to each of my needs, from dealing with traffic and car problems to exercising discipline in the classroom where I was a student teacher.

At one point in midwinter, between terms, I became ill with what at first seemed to be a cold. But it worsened, and I requested the prayer of a Christian Science practitioner. I recall a Sunday morning, during the time of the service at our church, when I was in bed and could not move without a great deal of pain in my very congested chest. I remember praying very hard, just to endure until I could talk to the practitioner. We had been discussing that "nothing inharmonious can enter being, for Life is God" (Science and Health, p. 228). It took time and effort before I was fully healed, but I was, and clearly remember the very tangible sense of divine Love with which I felt surrounded. It was actually a time of increased family harmony and closeness.

There are so many healings for which I am grateful. I feel very blessed to have demonstrated, at least to some degree, the healing effects that an increasing understanding of God brings to daily life.

Bambah-Jean Riedel
Flossmoor, Illinois