Nothing in the world quite compares to the love, joy, and trust you feel when you're with a good friend. This person may be someone you've grown up with over the years or could even be a special teacher or relative. Whoever it is, the friendship you share sparkles like a diamond in your life, pure and enduring. Most important, you feel you can always count on this special one for support and encouragement, no matter what.

When I was in high school, my most trusted friend was God. I know that might sound strange, but it's true. I had lots of nice friends to hang around with, of course, but it was at this time in my life that I began to "companion" with God more, and not just think about Him only on Sundays when I went to church.

One particular book helped make God very real to me. It was Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. Before I left for school each day. I'd drop this book into my big, floppy purse with the rest of my school stuff. In between classes, I'd often read a page or two as I walked down the hall. The book had so much to say about the nature of God and His infinite goodness.

You might wonder, Why was learning about God so important to me? Like many teenagers, I had my share of challenges—academic, social, even physical. And I discovered that knowing God was essential to knowing myself and others rightly. For example, since God is good and He made all, He made man good and free —in His likeness, as the Bible teaches. I learned I could apply this truth to any problem that arose—and sometimes it seemed there were lots of problems! Understanding God and my relationship to Him, though, brought peace and healing into my experience.

Now, I can't say I understood everything I read in Science and Health, but there were lots of passages that I knew well and loved. They were pure nuggets of spiritual truth that comforted and guided me. For instance, I loved the description of God in the Glossary of Science and Health. Ir reads, "The great I AM; the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-acting, all-wise, all-loving, and eternal; Principle; Mind; Soul; Spirit; Life; Truth; Love; all substance; intelligence" (p. 587). I also liked these lines from the first chapter, called "Prayer": "God is Love. Can we ask Him to be more? God is intelligence. Can we inform the infinite Mind of anything He does not already comprehend?" (p. 2)

These passages reassured me, especially when my homework load was overwhelming, that God, divine intelligence, was in control, and that as His child I reflected His wisdom, understanding, and dominion. Divine Mind was my trusted companion during exams, and knowing this enabled me to perform calmly and successfully.

If I came across a sentence in Science and Health that I didn't quite grasp, I tried to figure it out the best I could, by using a dictionary or sometimes by asking my parents or Sunday School teacher. But there was one experience I had in school that showed me the best way to understand God is to demonstrate the truth of His nature—through healing.

One morning in the middle of biology class, I started feeling very ill. I asked permission to be excused and went to the girls' restroom. I sat down on the floor, feeling as though I was about to pass out. Two girls noticed me and said they'd run to find an adult to help.

Right then I realized I needed to pray about this. I didn't have Science and Health with me at that moment (and if I had, I really wasn't much in the mood to read!), but a wonderful passage came to mind, and I held to it with all my heart. It was "the scientific statement of being," which affirms the spiritual nature of all being. It begins, "There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter. All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all" (p. 468). I began to turn my thought to God's supreme allness, and away from the problem. As I prayed, I strove to get beyond the words and understand the ideas in this statement. Deep inside, I yearned for God to reveal to me the truth of my real being.

Then, I thought about the last two sentences: "Spirit is God, and man is His image and likeness. Therefore man is not material; he is spiritual." Suddenly the logic of this became wonderfully clear. It clicked! In truth, I was not a sick, struggling person but God's perfect, spiritual reflection. I thought, "If Spirit is my creator and is perfect, how could I be anything but spiritual and perfect?"

A spiritual discovery never leaves us where it found us. At that moment all discomfort melted away. And there I was, sitting on the restroom floor, feeling just terrific and in total awe of God's healing power—and of His revelation of truth to me. The school nurse did arrive at this point, but I let her know I was fine and would return to class.

That day I learned I never have to fear that I don't know enough or understand enough to be healed. After all, God does the healing. I've found that as long as I'm yielding to His control and listening to Him earnestly, I get the answer I need. Looking back at those high-school days, I can see how reading Science and Health opened the door for me to a better, more inspired understanding of God and man. Christ Jesus offers some encouraging words in this regard, recorded in the book of Matthew: "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled" (5:6). Studying Science and Health brings out the spiritual sense of the Master's words and of the whole Bible as well. As its full title implies, it unlocks and opens wide to us the precious knowledge that God—Life, Truth, and Love—is an ever-present friend who guides, comforts, and heals.