I submit my testimony, which I trust will be as much...

O. L. Browning

I submit my testimony, which I trust will be as much help to others as previous testimonies have been to me. As Christian Scientists study the Lesson-Sermons and put into practice what they learn each day, they are building an ark for protection against the evil of this world, whether it presents itself in the form of limitation, cold, poor health, unkind feelings toward our fellow men, or any of the numerous so-called errors.

Recently the writer went through an experience that proved the protecting care of our heavenly Father over His children. My husband and I live on a ranch about forty-five miles from town. We left home about noon one day in our car to go to the near-by town for supplies, which we purchased; then went to a hotel for the night. On awakeing the next morning we found a heavy snowstorm was on, but as the roads had been so good in coming, we, as well as others, did not doubt reaching home in safety. We started about noon. When we had gone about fourteen miles from town and were on the coldest flat, where no one lived, with the snow blinding and our light not working, we found there was nothing to do but stay in our car until next morning, as the drifts were becoming more dangerous. My husband, knowing what a Montana blizzard meant, was full of fear, but different passages from the Bible and Science and Health would come to me and all fear would leave. We closed up the car as well as it could be done, but the wind was growing stronger all the time and it was getting colder.

I felt a wonderful peace and told my husband I was not afraid, I knew we would come out all right. But he said, "You do not know the Montana blizzards; you are not afraid because you do not know the danger." I answered, "God will protect us from all danger." Later my husband tramped a place for us to walk back and forth in. We walked for a while in the blinding wind and then I proposed going back to the car and taking a nap. He said, "You can sleep, but I will stay awake all night." I knew his fear was of freezing, but I finally prevailed on him to get into the car and rest. I knew we could sleep if we needed to, so we put our quilts over us in the seat, and leaned back. Then there came to my thought the words of one of our Leader's hymns (Poems, p. 4):—

O gentle presence, peace and joy and power;
O Life divine, that owns each waiting hour,
Thou Love that guards the nestling's faltering flight!
Keep Thou my child on upward wing tonight.

Him arm encircles me, and mine, and all.

I dozed off and found upon waking that my husband, too, had had a restful nap as he was sleeping when I awakened. It was now 10:25. We were getting cold again so we got out and walked some more, then went back to the car and slept. This time we had a longer sleep, as the fear was not so great on his part, and it was 2:25 when we awakened. The next time it was 4:25. When we awakened again it was about 5:15, and we could see the sun coming up in all its splendor, and my heart was lifted up in thanks to our heavenly Father.

My husband went for help to the nearest place, about twelve or fourteen miles away, and I knew that God would help us through the day as well as through the night. At twelve o'clock my husband came back; but in the meantime I read some Sentinels I had, which were very helpful. He had found a sheep camp, where they loaned him a horse to ride to a certain place where they said he could get a man to tow us in. This saved him a twelve-mile walk. The man came and took us to the camp, where they gave us a warm dinner. They asked how it was we did not freeze to death and said, "Are you not cold?" I answered, "No."

We reached the road house that evening, car and all. There we met others who had been in the storm but not as long a time as we, and when they heard we had spent the night in the car they were astonished that we were not hurt in some way. The following day we started to our ranch, the roadman having loaned us his sleigh and promised to take care of our car until it was convenient for us to take it home. Being a sourthern girl and always of a cold nature, it took scientific work for me to overcome cold. It was between ten and twenty degrees below zero the night we were out. In Psalms we read, "I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me to dwell in safety."—Mrs. O. L. Browning, Eight Point, Mont.

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