After eighteen years of what I considered to be a happy marriage, I was informed by my husband that he no longer loved me and wished to be released from our marriage. This came as a terrible shock, and I could not believe he really meant it. I did all that was humanly possible to convince him to stay with me, but he would not change his mind.

Once on my own, I felt I had been deserted. My husband and I had often talked about all the places we would go and the things we would do after our daughter and son had graduated from high school. Now all my hopes, plans, and security seemed to have been stripped from me. Depression sank in, and I struggled to be free of the problems I faced.

I contacted a Christian Science practitioner in a city one hundred and fifty miles away and asked for her support. How grateful I am for this practitioner's patience, perception, and love. For over a year I had daily telephone conversations with her. Sometimes fear prompted me to call two or three times during the day and night.

The word "release" with all its spiritual implications was a major topic that I studied and prayed about. Because it was difficult to express joy, I began a "gratitude diary." After listing everything that happened each day, I then realized how much there was to be grateful for!

During the year and a half that I was working this out, I was able to continue at my job without an absence of more than one and a half days. Although I slept only three or four hours each night, I was able to carry out all of my duties and still remain alert. All my financial needs were met, my daughter entered into a happy marriage, and my son later joined the United States Air Force.

My daily, sometimes hourly, prayer was to be more Christlike and to dispel such impositions as fear, self-depreciation, impatience, self-pity, self-justification, and self-righteousness. The Bible tells us (Ps. 46:10), "Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth." I had to still a mortal sense of self, release my yearnings for my former husband, and learn to trust God with the outcome.

The Bible Lessons from the Christian Science Quarterly, our Christian Science periodicals, and all of Mrs. Eddy's writings were most helpful. The Christian Science Hymnal was a source of peace, insight, and strength to me. Hymn No. 148 was deeply meaningful, especially these words from the last verse:

Mrs. Eddy assures us in Science and Health (p. 494), "Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need." Elsewhere she states (ibid., p. 66), "Trials are proofs of God's care." I can testify to the efficacy of Christian Science in turning me to God for help, and to the rewards of trusting Him. I am grateful for all of the many lessons that were learned as the symptoms of a mental breakdown were destroyed. Eventually a fine man came into my life at precisely the right time, and I now have a more balanced and satisfying marriage.

In closing, I would like to express my gratitude for being raised in a loving home, where the alertness and spirituality of my dear mother provided me with an almost disease-free childhood and quick healings of the difficulties that did arise. My mother has remained a shining example of a true Christian, and she was a great comfort to me during this time of spiritual development.

My own demonstrations include healings of ivy poisoning, sties, burns, cuts, and abnormal growths. There have also been quick and easy childbirths. And in over twenty-five years of driving, including eight years of driving for the United States Postal Service, I have had freedom from accidents. At the passing of my father, I suffered no grief. This was because of the study I had undertaken on the reality of death, during Christian Science class instruction. This inspired instruction was of tremendous importance, as it fostered my ability to overcome fear in mastering depression. The result was a blessing for all concerned. "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" (Rom. 8:28).

DOROTHY J. GORDON
Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii