Two women and a child

God doesn't play favorites.

By C. Petersen

The setting is an older motel. There has been a lack of upkeep for years. A view from the outside makes one wonder what goes on inside. Nevertheless, I know that God, divine Love, is there at that motel just as much as in the Holy of Holies.

Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.

Ps. 119:113

The demand to see the power and presence of Love everywhere comes from Christ, the spiritual influence that transforms human consciousness, Busyness and ignorance cannot baffe our desire to follow the Christ-idea. Right in that motel, another woman, a child, and I saw the Christ show us the presence of eternal Love. Nothing got in the way. Not fear, not prejudice, not even words.

I was at my office when my telephone rang. The quiet voice on the other end spoke with difficulty. Furthermore, there was a child crying in the background, overwhelming the conversation. The woman who had called me explained she needed help, and my number was the one she had picked out of the telephone book under the listing of Christian Science practitioners. She didn't know what else to say. I asked if she would like me to visit. "Yes, now please," she responded. She gave me directions to the run-down motel described above. It took me about fifteen minutes to get there.

Once there, over the loud stereo music down the hall, I could barely hear a child crying. As I walked toward the door where the crying was coming from, I could feel a heavenly presence with me. After I knocked, the quiet woman opened the door and spoke not only instantly but also eloquently, with her heart. She had an earnest desire to be patient with this crying child.

I picked up the baby as the woman explained that she was watching the child while his mother was away. The woman's humility outshone her timidity and apparent lack of education. There was not one speck of self-righteousness to be seen. We shared ideas about God, about how God really does love all Her children. Enough talk.

I could hear the Christ reminding me to listen solely to God, Love. More words would just get in the way. The phone rang, and the quiet woman went to answer it. We both tended to our business.

While she was on the phone, I hugged the child in love, acknowledging his innocence, purity, and maturity. This child did not have to wait to be independent of any pain or uneasiness. Our Father-Mother God was right then caring for the child's vitality and calm. God is fully able to keep us all healthy and comfortable, because God is healthy and comfortable, and He maintains us in His image.

I admit here that an absolute necessity became apparent to me. Christ required that I stop believing that the child would be healthier in better surroundings. But the Christ also helped me feel God's healing presence, instead of being so impressed by the surroundings. This child's well-being was dependent on God, not on a physical situation.

Over the loud stereo music, I could barely hear a child crying.

The struggle to see that God's treatment of every child is fair, special, beautiful, and wise soon became effortless. I felt washed. No more believing that a child in a mansion would be closer to Love than this boy in this motel room.

I then could see the little boy relax. His crying stopped, and he fell peacefully asleep. The woman got off the phone and turned to us. I saw a sacred look—not only of relief, but of pure gratitude. She had, I am sure, struggled, too, when intuition told her to call my number. She had no knowledge of Christian Science practitioners, no car, no money, but she did have the conviction that God loved this child and would not hurt him. Love proved itself not only to be very powerful, but also absolutely everywhere.

I left the room, confident that the woman and I and the child were at peace.

Always bear in mind that His presence, power, and peace meet all human needs and reflect all bliss.

Mary Baker Eddy,
Miscellaneous Writings, p. 263

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