Article September 3, 2001 Issue

YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN

David G. Shields

When I was growing up, my mother was very difficult to live with. Sometimes she would be very sweet, and other times she would get upset about nothing. She would cry for hours and tell us how no one loved her. She would be jealous of almost everyone and often lied about others' character. She constantly belittled my father until the day he died. When I was a teenager, sometimes she would throw things at me when she became upset.

For many years I blamed my mother for my problems. But as I began to study Christian Science more, I began to see that I was ultimately the child of God. That my parent was a loving God who had given me all I needed for happiness and success. Whatever God was, I was, as God's perfect image and likeness. God had always loved me, and since He was only good, I could experience only good in my life.

I realized that I needed to do more than just see myself as the perfect child of God. I must see my mother as God's child also. Her identity was never that of an unhappy mortal. She was never separated from God. She never had a material history. She had an indestructible relationship with her Father-Mother God, just as I did.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

Words of love that grabbed world attention