Presents, or presence?

By Michelle Nanouche

I was thinking of my daughter this morning, recalling a healing she experienced through prayer when she was about four years old. She had an earache, and although I tried to pray for healing, I wasn’t getting very far. So Betsy said, “Mommy, let’s call Mrs. K.” Mrs. K was a friend and Christian Science practitioner whom we sometimes called to help with problems. Betsy took the phone and told her what was wrong and then listened to what Mrs. K had to say. Just a few moments after she got off the call, she was totally well. No pain, nothing. It was over, and off she went to play.

Betsy had heard the inspiration that would have particular meaning to her: I am loved. And lots of good is on the way.

“Wait a minute!” I said to her. “What did Mrs. K say?” I had been praying, and it seemed as though nothing had changed as a result. I was really curious about how and why the healing had come about so easily. Betsy replied, “She said God loves me and will give me lots of presents!”

“What? Are you kidding me?” I thought. So I called Mrs. K. “Betsy is fine and we are really grateful,” I told her. “But what did you tell her when you had her on the phone? She was healed so quickly!”

She replied, “Well, I am glad. It was simple, really. I had been praying already when she called. So I reminded her that God loved her and that the love of God is omnipresent—that is, the only presence—and that she can be filled up only with God’s love.”

And from that, sweet Betsy had heard the inspiration that would have particular meaning to her: I am loved. And lots of good is on the way.

This is a child who never turned down a gift. And the present she got that day was a healing. God, divine Love, communicates in our own language, that is, in a way we can understand. Presence? Presents? If we feel the love, we are getting the message.

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