A desire in my heart

By Katherine DeGrow

From An EARLY AGE, I was interested in church. I recall having several classmates who spoke about their families' churches. No one in my family was interested in church, so I asked my friends questions, and their answers must have piqued my interest. But the deeper reason, I believe, is that God put the desire in my heart.

Growing up in my hometown in Michigan, I visited several different churches as my family moved from one neighborhood to another. My earliest memory of attending was when I was eight. The experiences I had between eight and ten raised questions that stayed with me for years afterward and really helped shape my life: Was God a punishing God? Did God love everyone, or just those who attended specific churches? Could I expect God to help me?

A music teacher I had in elementary school was aware that I was going to churches by myself, and invited me to the Sunday School at her branch Church of Christ, Scientist. I went for a year or more. When I was 12 and preparing to move yet again to a new neighborhood and different school, she took me to a Christian Science Reading Room, where she bought me copies of the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy. I started reading both books at that time.

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