What glorious opportunities we have as parents to prove God's protecting, healing power. Even though I attended a Christian Science Sunday School from an early age and was active in a Christian Science organization at college, I never fully appreciated what a precious gift my mother had given me through her acceptance of this religion until I became a mother myself.
When our first child was born, we were informed by attending physicians that she had a cleft palate. Although immediate surgery was not urged, we were told of difficulties the child would probably encounter. But the many months of prayer and study that had prepared my thought for my new role as a parent enabled me to see this as an opportunity for God's healing power to be proved. Immediately, I silently reversed the predictions outlined for our daughter as having no foundation in spiritual fact. However, it was more difficult to deny the malformation itself, as it was so visually obvious.
My husband, who is not a Christian Scientist, requested that the child make regular visits to a pediatrician, and this doctor made it a point to show me the condition at each visit. After a few months the doctor found that one of the child's feet was not developing properly, and he recommended daily manipulation of the foot as well as corrective shoes.
