Jyoti Bajaj - The Christian Science Journal, Oct. 2007
My life changed after I came to know Christian Science two years ago when one of my neighborhood friends told me about Science and Health. After I began reading the book, I came out of my problems one by one, and I experienced lots of blessings.
Russel Fogg - Testimony from the Christian Science Sentinel, Dec. 18, 2006
After snowboarding for the first time in eighth grade, while I was living in Missouri, I fell in love with the sport and bought all the gear. I snowboarded all the time. I was good at it and identified with it, partly because I got recognition and made friends. But mostly snowboarding felt very much like me being me.
Amy Nickell - Christian Science Sentinel, Feb. 19, 2007
When I was in college, I became obsessed with my weight. My first thought in the morning was either “How can I avoid eating today?” or “I’m fat.” I ate very little and often starved myself. Although this condition was never diagnosed, the symptoms were consistent with anorexia.
I was a lifelong Christian Scientist, and I recognized this as an obsession that wasn’t right. But I prayed about it only sporadically. People commented on my weight, but I would dismiss their concerns. I never considered myself skinny. I didn’t think I had a problem, until I stepped on a friend’s scale one afternoon and tipped it to only 93 pounds—fully clothed and with shoes.
Erin Deyerle - Adapted from the Christian Science Sentinel, April 2, 2007
Was it too late in the game? Shortly before graduating from college with an English degree, I decided I wanted to be a teacher. But without the proper education courses, I would have to take the complicated steps of getting a provisional state teaching license and then completing graduate courses and teaching requirements.
I found myself envying people who’d already mapped out their careers and were on their way. Why can’t I just feel settled like them? I thought to myself.
It was my junior year of college, and I’d hit bottom. I sat on the floor in the middle of my room, crying and depressed. I seriously contemplated suicide. Suicidal thoughts had come before, but this time I was drowning in all the vicious reasons why I should go ahead and do it.
How surprised people would be if they knew how I felt. On the surface, I was successful in so many ways—academically, athletically, musically. I supposedly had many reasons to be happy. And on the surface, I was. People were used to seeing my smiling face. Yet, I really felt empty and mechanical. I was drained of vitality and feeling.
The collegiate habit of talking with friends about our mammoth lists of tasks had provided more burden than comfort. A swirling list of unresolved problems—a past relationship gone bad, a severe injury that had recently taken away my ability to play sports, and a demanding college course load—made for an unhappy mix. Plus, it didn’t seem as though anyone understood who I really was. I thought maybe they’d appreciate me more when I was gone. All these things together led to an emotional impulsion toward suicide, which felt hypnotic and overwhelming. (more…)
Testimony Reprinted from The Christian Science Journal, March 2006
In LAGOS, NIGERIA, WHERE I GREW UP, many who’d left home to make their way in the United States were welcomed back as heroes. I admit that I used to get caught up in some of that hero worship myself. These people seemed so beautiful and modern to me, so much better than I was. I felt unworthy next to them. Sometimes I questioned my own abilities.
But I always had something to fall back on, and that was the definition of worth that my parents taught me right from the very beginning. They would say, Tunde, you are worth a lot, you are worth so much because you are the reflection of God, you are evidence of God’s existence. They would tell me, Your very being is attesting to the goodness of God.
Liz Duffy - Adapted from The Christian Science Journal, April, 2007
During my teen years I faced emotional setbacks, which made me confused about God’s role in my life. I was very shy and within myself, and I had low self-esteem. I didn’t really talk to anyone except my close friends, and my friends weren’t always high quality. In middle school, my parents divorced. Although I was glad they weren’t living together any more, I was still angry and resentful toward them and also toward my three older siblings. At the beginning of high school, I had a brief bout with anorexia and continued to obsess over my weight and physical appearance. Later, I got a taste of smoking, drinking, and physical relationships.
Snejana Andjelkovic - Adapted from The Christian Science Journal, March 2007
WHILE I WRITE THIS ARTICLE, I’m on a plane from Paris to the US for an exciting new work adventure.
As an international financial advisor, I’ve come a long way from my childhood dreams of being an actress someday. And yet my working life could easily be described as a sequel to different movies. Glamorous, like a fairytale—with some twists and turns—but always with a “happy ending.” Just like those good old black-and-white movies I used to watch as a young girl. (more…)
Quentin The Christian Science Journal, Nov. 2006
Last year toward the end of seventh grade, a group of boys my age and younger created a rumor about me suggesting I did something very embarrassing in sixth grade. There were so many reasons why the rumor was ridiculous. But the boys thought it was amusing.
Things started to get out of hand pretty quickly, and more and more people started to make fun of me when they saw me. (more…)
Golda Orwa - The Christian Science Journal, July 2006
I have done many things I’m not proud of. But the lessons I’ve learned from my trespasses have become priceless to me. Step by step, I’ve learned to forgive those who I felt had wronged me, and-most of all-to forgive myself.
Self-forgiveness may seem self-serving, but it’s one of the most selfless acts there is. It means doing as Jesus instructed: “First cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.” 1 In other words, be willing to work on our own faults, so we see clearly enough to help others overcome theirs. But it’s difficult to see things clearly when you have so much anger, as I did. (more…)
