For several years our family has needed some form of recreation or hobby that we could engage in together. When my husband was offered employment with a company manufacturing scuba and professional diving equipment, he became quite interested in the sport. Our son wanted to join him, but he was too young to take instruction without a parent. Suddenly I realized that both my son and husband very much wanted me to learn to dive with them.

I had been brought up in the Midwest, and until the past nine years had never been near the ocean. My mother had been afraid of water, and I had not learned to swim until I was a senior in high school. My first reaction to diving was that I was not a good swimmer, and that I didn't have the strength. My husband, who is not a Christian Scientist, urged me to make a Christian Science demonstration of it.

It was then that I decided this was something I must do for the family. My son and I enrolled in a class of scuba instruction. My husband eagerly purchased complete diving gear for us.

Many times during the course I was tempted to quit, but the motive to bless the family stayed uppermost in my thought. I spent time studying the Bible and Mrs. Eddy's writings before each class. Also several articles in the Christian Science periodicals were of help. It seemed that everyone else in the class came with a thorough knowledge of the subject. All but one were in their late teens.

Before the time came to go into the ocean, I had studied references from Mrs. Eddy's works about the ocean. In one place the "ocean of Love" is referred to (see Miscellaneous Writings, p. 205). In a passage concerning the strength of peace and mental conviction in metaphysics she writes, "This strength is like the ocean, able to carry navies, yet yielding to the touch of a finger" (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 121).

When the day of our beach instruction came, the surf was eight feet high. Our task was to swim out past the surf. I silently gave thanks for everything I could think of—my protective wet suit, the strength and patience of my diving instructor, the encouragement of my husband and son, the opportunity to prove dominion over my fears.

Our final test was to be on the bottom at a depth of thirty feet. Our class took a boat trip to Catalina Island. I had asked a practitioner to support me because of a tendency to become seasick. I was free of the nausea that had accompanied previous boat trips.

When my turn came to dive with the instructor, I became frightened and clung to a buoy. The instructor suggested that I return to the boat until I was ready to make the dive. As I sat on the diving platform, the thought came (Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, p. 578): "[Divine love] is my shepherd; I shall not want"; and in my prayer I added, "I shall not want for courage, ability, or strength." Finally the instructor said to me, "You know, making the dive would not be nearly as much work as trying to climb the buoy!" His sense of humor broke the mesmerism of fear for me, and I completed the dive.

The first thing I saw before I reached the bottom was a fish that was completely unafraid of me. Then I saw the beautiful white sand complemented by pink and lavender coral. We made two dives and spent over an hour joyfully exploring the bottom of the bay. The fear was gone!

This experience has blessed the whole family. We visit the beach every weekend. It has proved to be quite an adventure. Without the help of Christian Science I would possibly have never even attempted the sport.

I am most grateful for the restoration of family harmony and for the constant supply of daily spiritual food that comes through the channels of The Mother Church. A "Quotation for today," attributed to Maltbie D. Babcock in a recent issue of The Christian Science Monitor stated: "The workshop of character is everyday life. The uneventful and commonplace hour is where the battle is lost or won."

(Mrs.) Sallie Sue Cartwright
Fountain Valley, California