CALM THROUGHOUT THE BABY'S BIRTH

On the first day of April this year, Precious, my daughter, gave birth during her eighth month of pregnancy. The night before, my daughter had experienced unusual bleeding. We went to seek the help of her obstetrician. The doctor tried to do everything to postpone the baby's birth. But later that night my daughter's contractions started, and after further examination, she was rushed to the hospital because an incubator was needed for a pre-term. Precious was calm throughout this process.

While waiting for the baby to be born, I focused on praising God and thanking Him all throughout. I had earlier received a text message from a Christian Scientist friend who helped support me in prayer. She said, "Let us usher in the new birth of a spiritual idea" (see Science and Health, p. 109). At the time, I wasn't sure about what to pray for in an emergency and how to start praying. So this helped me see the baby as the child of God, and divine Life as the source of her perfection, which included health, wisdom, normal unfoldment, beauty. This had also been my prayer for my daughter throughout her pregnancy. I was certain that wonderful things would take place because we all reflect God's goodness and allness. I affirmed that the child belonged to God and was therefore perfect—an idea of Life and Love.

Singing hymns has always been my way of praying. And I found comfort by singing a lot of the hymns from the Christian Science Hymnal, such as the ones that begin "Our God is All-in-all, / His children cannot fear" (No. 267); and "Our God is Love, unchanging Love, / And can we ask for more?" (No. 269). They reminded me that God is Love and caused my fears to disappear. Precious is my only child, and at this moment of her giving birth to her first child, all I could do was trust God's goodness. Sometimes during an emergency, you might not know what truth to apply, but if your thoughts are aligned with God, you can rise above the circumstances and be assured that Principle, God, is in action and His creation is complete. This is what I experienced, and what I've come to call "emerge and see."

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ZERO TOLERANCE FOR HARM
August 30, 2010
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