I was raised in Christian Science, and I've always been grateful that since I was a small child I was trained to understand and confidently expect that when we turn to God, His divine love meets our every need. Through the years this has certainly been the case. Christian Science has solved business problems, sweetened discordant human relationships, healed physical ills, and replaced the effects of accident with harmony.

When working as a copywriter for an advertising agency, I was asked to develop some ideas for promoting a line of alcoholic beverages. After some prayer about how best to approach my superior, I told him it was against my convictions to work on a liquor account, and he seemed to accept it graciously. One Friday afternoon several weeks later he called me into his office, told me I wasn't working out as he had hoped, and gave me two weeks' notice.

Since he had never indicated any dissatisfaction with my work, I was stunned. I turned to Christian Science and spent the weekend praying to overcome any sense of injustice or resentment. I also had to rid my thought of self-condemnation, blaming myself for seeming to fail. I was able to return to the agency Monday with a sense of peace and a desire to continue to work to the best of my ability. On my last day my superior admitted he was bewildered by my willingness to work hard the last two weeks. He told me he was not at all sure he was doing the right thing in letting me go.

I learned from this experience that God lifts us out of situations that are no longer right for us. Instead of frantically looking for a new job, I decided to trust in God's direction. I was led to use my time to complete a project I had been working on. When the project was completed, I was able to take class instruction in Christian Science. The day before class began I had an interview with a company I liked very much, and the day after class I began working for them in a position which was more challenging, offered me greater responsibilities, and was better paying than my former job.

Realizing that God had been providing me with greater opportunities for growth and that the man who had dismissed me had only been an instrument in God's plan, I wrote to him expressing gratitude for our association and for the progress that had resulted from it. I received a very cordial letter in reply.

When my nephew was little over a year old, he fell off a second-story porch onto a cement driveway. The child was taken up unconscious. My sister was alone in a strange town at the time while her husband was at sea on naval duty. She called home very fearful about possible aftereffects well-meaning friends had voiced to her. A Christian Science practitioner was called, and treatment was immediately given. I was reminded that Christian Science teaches that you reach a young child chiefly through the parent's thought. It was very clear to me that when the fear in my sister's thought was destroyed, the child would be healed. The Lesson-Sermon from the Christian Science Quarterly that week was, "Adam and Fallen Man," and the parallels were quite obvious. Man is not bound by the false concepts of the Adam-dream, and he can never fall from perfection, from God's love and protecting care. The next day the child was completely well and playing again. There were no scars or aftereffects of any kind.

The physical healing that stands out most in my own experience was one of a skin disease which covered my hands and made them almost impossible to use. This healing was long in coming, and I went to several different practitioners before I was willing to let go of the false beliefs causing the problem. The hands were restored to their normal state and have remained so. Much fear was uncovered in my thought, and I gained a greater realization of my being as God's reflection.

These are only a few of the many healing and regenerative experiences I have had in Christian Science. I can't imagine trying to face the challenges of our increasingly complex world without it.

Paul Hunter, Jr.
Los Angeles, California