People sometimes wonder how children are given proper care in the homes of Christian Scientists. I grew up in such a home and have raised four children of my own in accord with its teachings. Many times our family has turned to God as the one ever-present, all-powerful, and all-loving Parent. I am grateful that I have felt able to lean on God throughout my life and that my children also have known this security.
When I was still in grammar school, I was walking home one day in early winter and noticed some boys making snowballs in the path ahead of me. They would dip the snowballs into icy water and then throw them at each person going past. I was terribly afraid and did not want to be hit by one of those ice balls. But there seemed to be no way around the boys.
In the Christian Science Sunday School the previous week my teacher had told us about David in the Old Testament. She explained that he loved to play melodies on his lyre and that the psalms he wrote were really songs, or poems set to music (see I Sam. 16:23). Then she turned to the book of Psalms to show us the kind of songs David sang. They all praise God for His goodness. She reminded us that if we ever felt afraid or in need of protection we could do as David had done and sing praises to God for His love. So that is what I did. I sang to myself as I went by those boys, thanking God because He is good and because He loves each one of us equally. To my amazement, not one snowball was thrown at me, and I passed safely by!
