Healing Hymns

[Of special interest to children]

JOAN LUELLYN KNAPP

Almost as soon as she could talk, Carol could sing. And almost as soon as she learned to sing a tune, she would climb up on the swivel stool of the old upright piano and pick out the melody. When she finished a tune she had a glorious ride, round and round on the stool.

One of the first songs she learned was from the Christian Science Hymnal. This hymn, which is by Mrs. Eddy, became Carol's favorite song and starts with the words,

Shepherd, show me how to go
O'er the hillside steep,
How to gather, how to sow,—
How to feed Thy sheep. Hymnal, No. 304;

Carol plays on the piano almost every time she passes it. When Grandmother came to visit, she taught Carol another hymn by Mrs. Eddy called "Mother's Evening Prayer." It begins, "O gentle presence, peace and joy and power."^{No. 207;} Carol practiced it on the piano, patiently learning the notes and singing the words carefully. She is very persevering about learning to play tunes she hears and likes.

When she was big enough to be in Sunday School, she learned many other hymns such as, "Onward, Christian soldiers,"^{No. 264;} "Rouse ye, soldiers of the cross,"^{No. 296:} and "O dreamer, leave thy dreams for joyful waking."^{No. 412;} Carol sang for the joy of singing. However, one day she found that there was more blessing in the hymns than just the happiness of singing. She found in them the secret of the Christ-healing.

Just before bedtime one evening, she came to her mother with a troubled face and a trembling lip. She put her head down in her mother's lap and said, "My ear hurts, Mommie." The tears came, and she was very unhappy.

Mother began to talk to her of God, reminding Carol how close He was to her and how He takes care of all. In the Bible they found a verse, "Incline your ear, and come unto me,"^{Isa. 55:3;} which Mother explained meant to listen to God instead of to matter.

They started to repeat "the scientific statement of being," found in Science and Health and written by Mrs. Eddy. The first sentence is, "There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter."^{Science and Health, p. 468;} But halfway through, Carol stopped and blurted out, "Oh Mommie, lets not talk about God anymore." More tears fell, and the ear ached harder.

In a little while Carol heard something. It was singing! Mother was singing Carol's favorite hymn. By the time the sobs stopped, Mother was beginning the third verse, and Carol decided to sing, too. Her voice was rather quavery, but they finished together. Mother asked Carol not only to sing the hymns but to listen to the words when she sang them, because they would help to bring her thinking close to God. When her thought was full of Love, it couldn't have any room for earache, because Love knows nothing about unloveliness, and earache is certainly not lovely.

Although it seemed hard at first, Carol began to sing all the hymns with great earnestness, listening to the healing words. She did feel close to God, and before long she dropped off to sleep. She woke a few times during the night, but she remembered to replace tears with a song. Finally, in what seemed the middle of the night, she woke up and saw Mother by her side. She smiled and said, "What are you doing here?"

Then she shook her head and said in a very matter-of-fact voice, "H'm, the earache is all gone."

She turned over and slept until morning. That was the end of the earache. Carol had learned a lesson. Not only were there joy and happiness in the songs from the Hymnal but healing as well!

The next hymn that Carol learned became another one of her favorites. It ends with the words,