Article December 2, 2013 Issue

'A treasure map' to Truth

Jeffrey Jones

One hot and humid summer day in July 2011, I was riding my bicycle down the streets of Pensacola, Florida, in search of employment. I had been out of work for many months and was living in a homeless shelter at the time. As I rode, I felt directed to walk into the local Christian Science Reading Room.

On this special day, God’s love was reflected by the attendant when she gave me a copy of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. After a pleasant conversation, I thanked this woman for showing me such kindness. Soon afterward, I began reading the “little book” (see Science and Health, p. 559). I read it in the city parks, in the day labor halls, and at night in the homeless shelter. I could not stop reading it, realizing what I actually had was a treasure map leading me to God—Life, Truth, and Love.

As the days continued, I began to sense that I needed to leave the street life and be alone to ponder what I was learning. I left Pensacola and traveled 60 miles north to my family home in the woods of lower Alabama. The next 16 months I spent there changed my life. In the early morning hours before dawn, just before the birds began to sing, I would read Science and Health sitting next to the house’s wood stove, using oil lamps for light since I had no electrical service. I read for six to eight hours a day, and when I was not reading, I was praying and reasoning with God while I did my daily chores, such as collecting firewood, washing my clothes with a washboard, or cooking rice and beans on the wood stove.