Article January 4, 1999 Issue

Needed: counterfeit agents

How to discern what's real and what's not

By Judith Hardy Olson

EVEN blindfolded, the government counterfeit agent instantly recognized every counterfeit bill we'd mixed in with the real ones. After astounding our seventh-grade class with his prowess, he stacked all the real money at one end of the table, the counterfeit at the other. Stepping back, he said, "Now it's your turn to become counterfeit agents."

We all made a beeline for the counterfeit pile. Watching us crowd and elbow for a closer look (it looked so real!), he said, "You'll never become counterfeit agents that way! You must become familiar with the real thing. Then the counterfeit won't even look real."

More than a memorable school-day experience, this important lesson came back to me years later when I most needed it. Now a mom with two small children, I was beginning to study Christian Science earnestly. As a child, I'd attended a Christian Science Sunday School and loved what I learned there of one universal God, divine Love, and His universal family.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

A childlike approach to fitness