God’s power in my life

During 1999, I had many personal problems. I felt that my marriage was about to break up, and I even had thoughts of suicide. My wife and I had tried counseling, but neither one of us felt it was helping.

One night I left home and drove to a neighboring town. In my mind I thought I had only two choices: death or getting drunk. I wasn’t much of a drinker. I turned the radio on to some classical music. Suddenly I remembered hearing the same music on a visit to the castle Mont-Saint-Michel in France. The music was playing when suddenly the castle appeared out of the mist. I saw that I was in a kind of mist, too. I realized then that I had another choice—God.

I really hadn’t attended church for over 29 years, although I did read a daily scripture and I’d observed my wife, who was a lifelong Christian Scientist. Now it was as if a voice were speaking to me, telling me that I needed to ask for help to solve my problems. I felt guided to pick up a copy of The Christian Science Journal and find a Christian Science practitioner in its directory. I didn’t know the person I called.

I started working with this practitioner daily and began studying Christian Science. He assured me that everything was possible to God and that God didn’t want me to lose anything. He started me thinking “Thy [God’s] will be done” (Matt. 6:10)—not my will nor my wife’s. He explained to me that it was “mortal mind” that was causing the relationship problems. This was a new term that I’d never heard of. I learned that it’s what the Apostle Paul in the Bible called the “carnal mind,” which is opposed to God. I began reading Science and Health—the chapter “Prayer,” and especially the chapter “Marriage.” I learned that God wants and knows only good.

I started finding peace. And I saw results. For instance, I hadn’t talked to my parents much about religion or life. But when I visited my parents, we talked, hugged, and expressed our love for each other for the first time in years. It was also the first time that I’d discussed religion and life with my father. We talked about his favorite Bible passage, Psalm 139, and what it meant to him. This psalm became equally important to me. It starts by saying: “O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me” (Ps 139:1). I later had the privilege of reading it at his memorial service.

I began to learn how to love better and more. I really saw that it was false thinking that caused my distress—that I needed to let my thoughts and actions be governed by divine intelligence. But my wife was still ready to give up on our marriage.

One day I told her that I was going to a Christian Science lecture nearby, and she decided to go with me. The lecturer referred to the way some people cover up all their problems and fears and put them under a napkin to hide them, instead of recognizing them for what they are and conquering them. I felt God was talking directly to me at that lecture. And when I began to cry, my wife comforted me. From then on, our relationship started improving.

During this time of prayer and transformation, I experienced an unintentional side effect. I was healed of severe headaches. I’d been going to doctors for several years, taking medication daily that just seemed to make things worse. The headaches kept returning. After I began my study of Christian Science, I remember one time calling the practitioner to pray for me about a headache, and it was gone as soon as I hung up the phone. Soon they completely disappeared and haven’t returned. I’m so grateful for this healing.

Through most of the early months of prayer, although I didn’t understand all of what was going on or what I was doing, I did have the strong feeling that God loved me and was leading me out of the mist that I found myself in. Now, I have a complete understanding of how things changed through my spiritual growth. I recently took Christian Science Primary class instruction and am now a member of The Mother Church, as well as a branch Church of Christ, Scientist.

Today, my marriage is stronger than ever. And after retiring several years ago, I went back to teaching and have had the best years of my career. I am eternally grateful.

Leon May | Omaha, Nebraska, US

I’m glad to verify my husband’s testimony and the healing of our marriage. I’d been praying for a long time about our marriage, and at the time my husband is referring to I wanted a divorce. There just seemed to be no agreement on any issue between us. I felt criticized and was emotionally spent.

Finally, I felt I had no more to give, and since I had prayed about this and it still seemed there was no harmonious resolution available, I was at the point of giving up. However, I attended my annual Christian Science students’ association meeting that weekend, and in talking with my Christian Science teacher I felt a renewed sense of hope for a harmonious outcome. As Mrs. Eddy said in the chapter on marriage in Science and Health, “Science inevitably lifts one’s being higher in the scale of harmony and happiness” (Science and Health, p. 60).

Shortly after returning home, my husband and I attended the lecture he mentioned, which turned out to be a real turning point for us. Our relationship started to mend. We both found a sense of peace and harmony through much consecrated prayer. There has been a real transformation. We were lifted up to recognize each other’s true identity.

I’m so grateful for Leon’s recognition and understanding of Christian Science. We now talk the same “language” and are there to support each other. When I need to be reassured, he is there to offer spiritual encouragement, and likewise I try to do the same. Our marriage of 38 years is indeed stronger than ever.

Karen May