"O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me" (Ps. 30:2). From girlhood on I felt a sense of loneliness because my parents were gone. As the years went by I accepted other erroneous concepts, such as lack, disease, and God's abandonment of me. Six medical specialists, after fighting to save my health for a number of years, finally told me that they were sorry but my body no longer responded to any treatment. They said that I was afflicted with a number of organic complications, so that when they tried to cure one, another was aggravated. Among these ailments were varices and phlebitis (from which I had suffered for twenty-three years), two slipped disks, thyroid trouble, excess of uric acid, and chronic pharyngitis. In addition, I was on the verge of losing my sight.

I had heard of Christian Science a year before, but I had not pursued it, because I wanted to be loyal to my own religion. I prayed constantly to God in my own way. But I was sure that those doctors who had studied so much really had the ability to decide about my life, so I accepted their opinions and advice unconditionally.

But when I felt most helpless, the time came to make a decision. I thought that since I was going to die soon, there was no reason to be too obedient to medical prohibitions. First, I decided to read—with the help of a magnifying glass—in order to test my mental retention, which I felt I had lost. What I had at hand was a copy of the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, which a friend had given me more than a year earlier. I began to leaf through the book unenthusiastically, and then I came across these words (p. vii): "To those leaning on the sustaining infinite, to-day is big with blessings." This statement made no real impression on me, as I didn't feel I understood it, but even so I insisted on reading the sentence again and then going a bit further. From the little I was able to grasp, I thought that the author might be mistaken on various points, because it was difficult for me to understand that something as marvelous as Christian Science could exist. This aroused my lively curiosity to know more, and I spent several hours absorbed in reading, without paying much attention to the symptoms of illness I still felt. From that time, I stopped all use of medicine. I just forgot about myself. Then I had a night of restful sleep.

The next day it was as if thick, dark curtains had opened to let in the illumination of the light of Truth, which shone in my understanding. That perception of divine Love changed my thinking and, at the same time, my whole life. It brought me a joy I had never before experienced. I felt protected and happy, and I hastened to find out more about everything to do with Christian Science. Mrs. Eddy says in Science and Health (p. 272): "The spiritual sense of truth must be gained before Truth can be understood. This sense is assimilated only as we are honest, unselfish, loving, and meek."

I began to attend the Sunday services and Wednesday testimony meetings at a branch Church of Christ, Scientist. I also asked for an appointment with a Christian Science practitioner, who lovingly and patiently explained that the study of this Science would lead me to an understanding of my relationship to my Father-Mother God. I began to study the Bible Lesson in the Christian Science Quarterly, and as a result, my enthusiasm for Science, and an awareness that I am important because I am the well-loved daughter of God, have grown daily.

Since taking my first footsteps in Christian Science, over nine years ago, I have been completely well. The Word of God reached me and dissipated a mistaken, limited sense of myself by making me understand my true immortal nature as the perfect manifestation of divine Mind. As we read in the textbook (p. 350): "Divine Truth must be known by its effects on the body as well as on the mind, before the Science of being can be demonstrated."

I am very grateful to God, the All-in-all, for a most precious treasure: the desire to know and to obey His divine laws.

GUADALUPE NAVARRO de GUERRERO
Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico