I shall be always grateful for the instantaneous healing I experienced on first reading the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy. I had had a very distressing, heavy cold. A great fear of this recurring condition was uncovered in my thought. The healing was a great awakening as well as proof that Christian Science heals.

As a teen–ager I had longed and searched to find out what life really was, and why man appeared to be here one day and gone the next. Also I was very prejudiced against Christian Science and its teachings, as my parents were. But finally in my desperation, I was prepared to look with an open mind into anything that would give me a reasonable explanation of life.

I was led in my extremity one day to discuss my problem with a business friend, whom I knew to be a Christian Scientist. As a result she took me to a Christian Science lecture and then to a Wednesday evening testimony meeting in a branch church. I came away from that meeting convinced that the testifiers had the truth I had long sought. That inner conviction has never left me. Christian Science has given me the answers to what God is, and what man is as His reflection. I know now that none of us can ever be separated from real Life, which is God.

Before taking up the study of Christian Science I Had had a throat operation and antrum trouble, and finally chronic sinus infection. The latter condition continued for a few years, and a great deal of false thinking had to be corrected, until finally one day the unreality of the whole claim of a mortal past with its unhappy memories, treatment, and associations was instantly destroyed in consciousness. The healing was such that it was not until some weeks had elapsed that an incident recalled it to my mind, and then I realized at what time the healing had occurred.

At times, during these years, I went through very deep waters. Financially, my husband's affairs and mine were very limited, and many problems presented themselves. Only by proving, step by step, the teachings of Christian Science and its practical application to our daily needs was progress made and sustained. Consistent prayerful work and listening for and obediently following Mind's direction have resulted in great good in our lives and a greater sense of abundance.

About eight years ago the idea came to us to move from Scotland to the extreme south of Britain, where we now live. We had never seen this area before, although there had always been a desire to live there. As the result of the prayerful preparation in Christian Science, and in spite of limited housing conditions, we quickly found exactly the right property required. The situation and general environment were excellent in every way. We were finally able to dispose of other property and business interests completely. This latter disposal required more consecrated prayerful work, and I asked a Christian Science practitioner for support through prayer, which was effectively given.

I am grateful for the good that flows unceasingly from divine Love to meet all our needs, and for the love that pours forth from our beloved Mother Church not only to its branch churches everywhere but to the whole world. My gratitude overflows for Christ Jesus and his teachings and proof of eternal life, and for Mrs. Eddy, whose purity of thought enabled her to be the revelator of the Comforter in this age, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Christ Jesus in John (see 14:16). I have been grateful over the years for the help that has always been given by consecrated practitioners when we have turned to them for support. "Freely ye have received, freely give" (Matt. 10:8).

(Mrs.) H. Marjorie Macbeth
LeHocq, Jersey, Channel Islands

A few years ago I was traveling through Europe with about thirty other Christian Science college students. We were on a study abroad program provided for by our college. It was a priceless educational experience and had been planned carefully, with little room allowed for delay or schedule changes.

We had been following our schedule easily when, about halfway through our ten–week trip, we arrived in Paris. There our Paris guide informed us of a city–wide strike which had closed down most of the historical buildings and museums. There was no way of knowing when the strike would end.

This had all the makings of a minor disaster as far as our educational program was concerned. We were scheduled to stay in Paris less than a week, and now it appeared as if we might not be able to see many of the things about which we had studied so much.

Sunday was the day we'd arrived. Monday and Tuesday were taken up by a city tour, leisure time, and visits to chateaus not closed down by the strike. By Tuesday evening the strike was still not settled. The places we wanted to visit remained closed, and we could not postpone or rearrange things. The professor in charge, listening to God for direction, told the guide to have the bus at the hotel early in the morning, as had been scheduled before the strike began. She agreed to do so. The next morning the bus arrived, but we were again told that the strike was not over. The guide felt that it would be useless to continue but finally agreed to go on. We proceeded out of town and on our way to the first site to be visited—about an hour's drive away.

We were rather quiet on the bus that morning. I have a feeling that all of us turned to Christian Science to find the solution to this problem.

As for me, I was aware that Christian Scientists do not manipulate other people or attempt to turn human events in their own favor for selfish reasons. But I knew that Christian Scientists do strive to realize the harmony that God has already established in His spiritual universe, and that as it is realized in consciousness, so it is experienced in the human situation.

In thinking the problem over the night before, I had remembered a citation from the Bible. The citation is, "And we knowthat all things work together for good to them that love God" (Rom. 8:28). Mentally holding to this statement had put my thought at ease. I saw that my duty was to love God and man and to realize the ever–presence of the love of God. I knew that all involved—workers, management, and students—did respond to and express God, divine Love. Holding to this, I would see the Bible promise fulfilled—all things would work out harmoniously.

I was not outlining a solution, but I did know that, despite the reported situation, divine Love, infinite Mind, was still unfolding good and maintaining the original purpose of our tour.

As I say, I had been reasoning along this line the night before, but after riding on the bus awhile I thought, "Well, the die is cast by now. The strike is either over or it's not, and if it isn't, what then?" I reminded myself that God, Spirit, is not restricted by time or other material circumstances. Things would definitely yield in some way to make room for our rightful educational experience.

We eventually arrived at our destination, and our guide went in to see how things stood. I'll never forget the expression on our guide's face when she came out to tell us that the strike had ended five minutes before our arrival. You can imagine our pleasure and joy!

That day and the rest of that week we visited all the places we'd wanted to visit and had wonderfully rewarding times.

There were many instances of healing on that trip, and I returned from it with the glowing conviction that nothing is impossible to the Christ, Truth.

Growth in the understanding of divine Science, or the laws of God, has brought continuous good into my experience. And I am especially grateful for the Church of Christ, Scientist, the vital human organization protecting the purity of the revelation of divine Science. I took Christian Science class instruction in 1968, and it was an unparalleled experience.

I say, "Thank You, God," for the good that is established, and of which we all can become increasingly aware.

Dan Nelson Barrett
Santa Monica, California