Editorial February 15, 1988 Issue

God's law of harmony brings healing

Ann Kenrick

The extent of the problem of abused and battered children probably comes as a surprise to most of us. The pathetic lives led by such children evoke deep responses in us all. We feel pity—but this emotion is not enough to heal these tragic situations. Perhaps the response most needed is a spiritual one that can strengthen our capacities to help.

I found this out when I accepted a tough assignment to teach in a school for deprived children many years ago. I taught the entrance class of five- and six-year-olds. These children had all been taken into residential care because of their bad home conditions. Many of them had been abused, and the scars of both the mental and physical deprivation they had endured were pitiful.

At first I was overwhelmed by the task of trying to teach these children even the simplest lessons. They certainly engaged all my human sympathy and love (and my patience!), but this was not enough to get some order and calm into the classroom so that they could learn. As a student of Christian Science, I turned humbly to God in prayer. Each day I tried to establish in thought the fact that God is the Father-Mother of all He creates and that His spiritual offspring are held in His tender embrace. Nevertheless by the end of each day I was exhausted.

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