As a teenager I began to question my family’s religion. My mom had not been raised in a religious household. When she married my dad, she agreed to worship in the church he attended. My brother, sisters, and I were given instruction in that faith. While I loved the beautiful church with its stained-glass windows, I became increasingly uncomfortable with some of the doctrines and began to find excuses not to go to Sunday services. My parents were not happy about this, but Mom did say I should find a way to worship that would keep me close to God, as she had. I had not studied the Bible, but did love the book of Psalms, especially Psalm 23. I visited many different churches, looking for one that presented God as the Good Shepherd.

In my early 20s I married someone who had been raised as a Christian Scientist. We did not talk about religion much, but he owned a small leather case with two books in it. One was the Bible. I had never heard of the other, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. 

I noticed a Christian Science church, and one Wednesday night, we attended their meeting.

We moved to a little town along the seacoast in New England, far from either of our families. We didn’t know anyone, and I was lonely. I noticed a Christian Science church, and one Wednesday night, at my request, we attended their meeting. There were no stained-glass windows, or statues, or candles, but we were welcomed in such a loving way that I felt very comfortable.

At one point in the service, after some readings from the Bible and Science and Health, members of the congregation were invited to share testimonies of healings and remarks on Christian Science. I was deeply moved when one man stood up and quietly told how he had turned to God and used prayer to heal a situation. I had never heard a man speak about prayer in that way. My husband and I began to visit the Sunday services as well.

The members of that church treated us like an extended family. A few months later, they surprised us with a baby shower. It was the nicest thing anyone had ever done. I became friends with one of the women, who had two young children. She was so patient with them. She told me it was the result of studying Christian Science and living it daily. One of the things I wanted to change about myself was a bad temper. I wanted to be just as patient and loving with my new baby. 

When I visited this woman, I noticed that she had those same two books, the Bible and Science and Health. She showed me how she marked them with the weekly Christian Science Bible Lesson citations. She said the church had a Reading Room that was open for anyone to visit. The Bible Lesson was available there as well.

She gave me a paperback copy of Science and Health, and I began to read it. I did not understand a lot of what I read, but was delighted to find within it a spiritual interpretation of Psalm 23. This presented God as Love—more than just a loving God, as Love itself. I think I knew right then that I had found what I was looking for and more, because this religion taught about healing through prayer. My husband was supportive, letting me find my way at my own pace.

Every afternoon I put the baby in the stroller and walked over to the Reading Room. I would read the Lesson while the baby napped and then ask the person on duty questions. One woman showed me a shelf of biographies about Mrs. Eddy. I read them all, fascinated about her childhood struggle with her family’s concept of God. She had a deep love of the Bible and was healed of the effects of a fall when she turned to an account of Jesus’ healings. I began to apply what I was learning in my own life and had healings of illness for myself and the baby, overcame a smoking habit, and the bad temper just melted away.

Within a few years I had become a member of that local church and of The Mother Church in Boston. The more I learned, the more I wanted to know about the Christian Science way of life. One day, I went to a public lecture about Christian Science and talked with the lecturer afterward. I ended up applying to him for Primary class instruction, a 12-day course on spiritual healing, and I was accepted.

Now I am a Christian Science practitioner, often getting calls from those who are new to Christian Science. What a pleasure to introduce them to Science and Health with its spiritual translation of Psalm 23. I often recommend one of the biographies about the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science. I am so grateful for the way God graciously led me along this path and gave me the opportunity to share Christian Science with others.