I wouldn’t change a thing

When I was growing up there were many times I felt different or more appropriately “strange.”

I’ve attended a Christian Science church all my life. I started in the nursery, moved up to the Sunday School, and then into the congregation as a member. That was the easy part.

It was at my public school where I felt out of place, different, and even strange.

Almost every year at school there would be at least one vaccination required. And I would be the only one exempt from getting it. It always triggered a horde of classmates asking me questions like “Why didn’t you get the vaccination?” or “How are you so lucky?”

And then came the inevitable follow up questions like “you’re going to get sick” or “you’re going to get us all sick” and even “you’re going to die.” All very encouraging comments as you can see. And their fear that I’d expose them to disease because I wasn’t vaccinated seemed to make it hard for me to make any friends…and that was hard.

And you know what? I sometimes had trouble sticking with the truths I was learning in Sunday School and I actually ended up getting sick quite frequently. Even so, I was always healed through prayer. Unlike my classmates at public, I understood God’s healing power and the protection He provides. It made me want to stick with Christian Science and I’ve never regretted it.

Today things are much different—with some similarities. I work for a hospital as a web designer and I am the only employee who has never taken a sick day or needed to. I still get the odd question about vaccinations, but in general everyone is very accepting.

I now have lots of friends—both Christian Scientists and not—and they’re all very supportive. And some of my friends who are not Christian Scientists are very interested in Christian Science and have even come to church with me. So even though I was the strange one growing up, I wouldn’t change a thing.