I have raised five children, most of the time without the availability of a telephone and miles from help. The Bible and Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy were all that I needed.
One of my sons suffered a concussion when he fell off a horse, and another fell off the piano when he was a toddler. Both were given Christian Science treatment promptly. I affirmed their unity with God, as stated in the Bible (Gen. 1:27): "God created man in his own image." I knew that His image could never be harmed by accident or any human belief. Man's life is the reflection of God, harmonious and eternal. I also held in thought the first part of Mrs. Eddy's definition of "children" (Science and Health, p. 582): "The spiritual thoughts and representatives of Life, Truth, and Love." Both sons were quickly healed as I saw they could not be outside God's presence even for an instant.
Late one evening my teen-age daughter stepped on a large scorpion. The sting was extremely painful. We immediately began talking about Truth, and this statement was helpful to us (Science and Health, p. 514): "All of God's creatures, moving in the harmony of Science, are harmless, useful, indestructible." We prayed to see clearly that this creature was as free from being harmful as we were from being harmed, since we all are God's ideas, expressive of Him. The fear was eliminated, and with it all the pain. Any temptation to destroy the scorpion was turned aside, although we did remove it from the yard. My daughter slept through the night without any discomfort, and the next morning there was no trace of the sting.
