I was raised in Christian Science, but in my teenage years I stopped going to Sunday School. In college, I married my high school sweetheart, but by this time I wasn’t living my life in accord with what I’d learned in Christian Science. I was drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana. I had reached a point where I wanted to stop but wasn’t able to through willpower.

I began suffering from hemorrhoids that became so painful I consulted a doctor. He said the only thing he could do for me was surgery. That really scared me. It was difficult to walk, and I was unable to go to work. My wife said that I couldn’t just lie around, and that I should either do what the doctor suggested or use “this Christian Science” I had told her about.

I decided to call a Christian Science practitioner for treatment through prayer. Even though I feared that turning to Christian Science might mean I’d have to change my lifestyle—which I thought I enjoyed—I feared surgery even more. The practitioner sensed that I was on the fence about committing to Christian Science treatment. She told me to buy the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, and all of the other writings by Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer of Christian Science, and begin reading them along with the Bible. My wife and I were poor college students, so I really gave some deep thought to this decision before ultimately following through with it.

I began studying the books, all of which are based on the author’s deep study of the Bible, and had long talks with the practitioner. It was a transformative time for me. This verse from a hymn in the Christian Science Hymnal expresses how I felt:

The pain began to dissipate, and in two weeks I was completely free of the hemorrhoids. Later, there were a couple of instances where they flared up again, but they were never as severe and were healed quickly through prayer.

My life felt really different. As a child, I’d relied on my parents’ prayers when problems occurred. This experience, though, helped me understand for myself what Mrs. Eddy discovered—the Christ Science that Jesus taught and practiced. Basic to this Science is the understanding that we are created in the image and likeness of God, divine Spirit, and are therefore spiritually perfect like Him. I felt joyful and inspired. My heart truly was singing, and I knew I had found the way.

I never told the practitioner about my drug addiction, but after this healing I discovered that all desire to use drugs was gone. No willpower was involved—it was the light of the Christ, dissolving the “mist and shadow into Truth’s clear day.” I disposed of all my drug paraphernalia and felt such gratitude and relief!

This healing occurred over forty years ago, and I’ve never been tempted to use drugs again. This was the start of my commitment to the daily study and practice of Christian Science, and I cannot imagine life without it.