To me the most valuable aspect of Christian Science is the joy it brings—the consciousness that good is enveloping us because God is its source. This awareness of the divine presence promotes confidence to find proper solutions and try new skills, progress in learning how to love, and daily opportunities to grow spiritually through efforts to heal whatever is discordant in our lives.
A beacon healing in our family occurred when our small daughter had an infected throat that developed into a pronounced abscess. A Christian Science practitioner prayed for the child, and for me, too, as I was searching diligently for a higher view of motherhood. I felt that the Bible account of Abraham, who was willing to sacrifice his son, Isaac, had a message for me, and I prayed earnestly to perceive its fuller meaning (see Gen. 22).
As I studied the account, I saw that just as God had stayed Abraham's hand from harming Isaac, so my Father-Mother God had only good in store for our daughter. But I must willingly sacrifice a false mortal concept of the child and replace it with an understanding of her true nature as a spiritual idea of God. Mere human goodness, however sweet, did not constitute her true identity; but her untainted perfection as the offspring of divine Mind did. This was her real identity and all that could truly be known of her. I was therefore free to love this child without any trace of fear, for her health and safety were inviolate, derived from and sustained by God.
