It was a very difficult time in my life. My husband, my dearest earthly friend, had unexpectedly passed on. We had met on the very first day of college, and we were supposed to be together forever. Now, suddenly he was gone.

On a daily basis, I struggled to stay above water, so to speak. I also felt great sadness for my three children, who were very close to their dad. He wouldn’t be there anymore with his quirky humor, with the special bond he had with each of them. We were always laughing when he was with us. But now, as grateful as I was for the immense outpouring of love showered on me and my children by family, friends, and church members during this time, life seemed dreary and empty.

I had been a student of Christian Science since college, and I had experienced many beautiful healings, both for myself and my family—including healings of eczema, fever, severe head pain, and earache, to name a few. But navigating this grief, I felt like “a stranger in a strange land,” as a Bible verse says (Exodus 2:22).