As a child I was very fearful of devils and ghosts, which were often discussed as something real and capable of disrupting people's lives. "Who has power in this world?" I asked my Sunday School teacher. He said gently, "God, He alone, has power." Could devils and ghosts have power? I asked my Sunday School teacher this question, too. And he replied that I already knew that God alone had power; why did I still believe in the power of devils and ghosts? Why should I be afraid of something that was no power at all?
This answer satisfied me, and although I wasn't entirely aware of it then, I saw clearly that devils and ghosts were nothing, and I spent the rest of my childhood free of these fears. One doesn't need to fear something that is nothing. Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy says, "In short, children should be told not to believe in ghosts, because there are no such things" (p. 352).
When I was older, and our family had moved to Pematang Siantar, where my father was employed, I contracted a severe case of German measles. I was very fearful. Medicine didn't help me at all. Finally my father asked me if I wanted treatment from a Christian Science practitioner. Because I didn't know anymore what to do, I said I wanted it.
