Article January 1, 2001 Issue

I wanted a Painkiller

by Marian Hoeben—Fish Hoek, South Africa

One night I was in great pain. My ear hurt. My mom and I were praying and singing hymns, and I was trying to see that I was God's spiritual idea. But the pain was so bad that I began to scream.

Then my Sunday School teacher phoned and my mom spoke to her. She told my mom that God was whispering to me. God's "still small voice" was all that was entering into my ear's tympanum. I wanted a painkiller. So my teacher said to go and get one and she would keep praying. She knew that God is the only power, and that a pill has no power to heal or harm a person. This stopped me and my mom from being afraid.

While my mom and I drove around looking for an open pharmacy, she sang a hymn I know from the Christian Science Hymnal called " 'Feed My Sheep.' " As there weren't any open shops, we went to my dad's house for some medicine.

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