When I was four years old, my parents divorced, and my mother became my sole support. I was an only child, and there were no relatives around, so the two of us were on our own. Around that time, a neighbor asked my mother if she could take me to a Christian Science Sunday School. My mother said yes.

On and off for several years, kind Christian Science neighbors would take me to Sunday School wherever we happened to be living. Among the important lessons I learned there was that God is always caring for me and is always present to help. 

Then, when I was twelve, my big toe developed an ingrown toenail. I didn’t tell my mother, as she was working so hard to support us and was away all day long from early morning. When she arrived home each night, she was busy caring for our home and feeding the two of us before going to sleep. She had enough to think about, so I didn’t want to worry her with my physical condition.