Article December 5, 1977 Issue

The Traveler

(written at age 9)

Becky Votaw

I had always felt that I was very fortunate to have not only two grandmothers but a great-grandmother as well.

One day when I came home from school, my mother told me that my great-grandmother had passed on. At first I was very sad and cried. But then my mother and I began to talk. My mother told me that if someone I loved were taking a walk and suddenly turned the corner and I couldn't see him, I wouldn't be sad. I would know that he was going right on. This made me feel better, but I still needed to know more. Since my mother had other work to do, I took my copy of Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy and went off by myself.

My Christian Science Sunday School teacher had taught us how to look up words in the Glossary in Science and Health. That's where Mrs. Eddy has defined certain important words. First, I looked up the word "death." Part of the definition Mrs. Eddy gives is "An illusion, the lie of life in matter." ^{Science and Health, p. 584;} Next, I looked up "man." I found that part of that definition was "the spiritual image and likeness of God." ^{ibid., p. 591.} And last I looked up "Life." The Glossary referred me to page 468, where I read, "Life is without beginning and without end." Right away, all my feeling of sadness went away.