Article November 30, 2009 Issue

FRIENDS, TEACHERS ... AND GETTING ALONG

with contributions from Yulia, Niklas

LAST YEAR AT SCHOOL  I got into a fight with my best friend. We couldn't talk with or even look at each other. After school that day, I went to talk to a teacher about this problem. I go to a Christian Science school where the students are encouraged to pray about everything using their understanding of Christian Science. My teacher suggested turn to God to resolve the situation. Because of what I had learned about God and myself as His image, I was not going to let anger take over my thinking. I knew I had to refresh, or change, my thoughts.

After I left her classroom, I started to walk home and began to pray. Right away I knew that I had to be quiet and listen to what God was telling me about my friend. As I was listening for God's message to me, the idea came that God was my friend. God would always be my friend. And I thought, "OK, if God is my friend, then she is my friend too." As God's children we both reflected the eternal qualities of friendship like kindness, thoughtfulness, and unselfishness. These qualities are always with us because God is always with us.

That night my mom and I prayed and thought some more about the good qualities that my friend reflected. I saw that my friend was patient, forgiving, loving, generous, happy, and helpful. I realized that those qualities came from God and that she was a child of God like I was. God didn't make her a bad friend. After the talk with my mom, I wasn't angry at all. I felt more peaceful and happy about our friendship.

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