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I love to stretch the boundaries of long-held notions about human life and its limitations. The more I understand the one infinite and benevolent God, the more I grow to expect that good is ever-operative. When at a crossroads in my career, my love for mankind prompted me to realize that I was most needed for my commitment to spiritual healing, so I entered the Christian Science healing practice. Before dedicating myself full-time to this practice, my faith in God was tested as a student, an active businesswoman, an educator, and a stepmother to adolescent children. My career included serving as one of the early women hired in a non-clerical position by the U.S.

As a child, I loved learning Bible stories, especially the stories about Jesus. I loved the way God answered the requests of the prophets and those of Christ Jesus.

To get to the bottom of events, to know how something really is: that has motivated me since my childhood, to ask questions. Quite early, I found answers in music, while playing the piano and composing; tones, sounds, and rhythms opened great, wonderful spaces.

As a teen struggling with a view of God as punishing and blessing, I had two prevailing thoughts about God: anger and fear. When I was introduced to Christian Science, I did not expect to find solutions to those struggles in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures , but I was intrigued by the ideas that the book was a key to understanding the Bible (which I had grown up reading) and that it explained a divine Science of healing. It seemed reasonable to me that if something is actually a science, then any honest student can learn the rules, apply them, and find predictable results.

It was through the kindness of a neighbor, who drove my sister and me to Sunday School every week, that I was introduced to Christian Science and had a healing that changed my life. Neither of my parents were Christian Scientists, and I’d been born with a disfiguring skin condition.

I was raised in Angola. In 1971 I finished secondary school, received a certificate in general pedagogy, and started working as a teacher.

In common with many people, I am sure, the two most important things to me are my family and my faith. In fact, I can say that I would not have one without the other, since they came to me about the same time and were very much connected. Seeking help after a succession of three miscarriages, I came across the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered Christian Science. A whole new, more spiritual perspective on life began to open up to me, and I learned that healing through prayer is as possible now as in Jesus’ day.

During college, a significant healing established me on a path to not only better know and understand God, but also to understand why that mattered . After being ill in bed for a week, I was healed overnight after a Christian Science practitioner (whom I’d asked to pray for me) spoke to me about the First Commandment in a way that challenged and revitalized my thinking.

I grew up near Boston with parents who loved and lived Christian Science.  But it wasn’t until I struck out on my own and worked overseas that I realized Mrs. Eddy’s revelation was for me too.  On returning home, I joined a branch church and took Primary class instruction.

Having been raised in Christian Science I always expected to become a practitioner. While my path may not have been as quick and direct as it probably has been for others, there were always signposts that I was on the right track.