Childlike trust heals finger
A few years ago, while hammering brick pavers into the dirt to create a patio, I came down with a heavy rubber mallet onto one of my fingers. When I looked at the finger, I could see that the nail was broken beyond the quick and the finger was injured. The friend who was working on the project with me saw the finger and said with a touch of sarcasm and regret, “Well, that’s going to be fun,” implying that the healing of the nail and the finger might not be easy. He said that he’d had a similar injury, and it’d taken a long time to heal completely.
I immediately went into the house to rinse the finger and, standing at the kitchen window, looked outside and began to pray. The first thought that came to me was the story from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy of a little girl who wounded her finger. Mrs. Eddy included this account to illustrate the childlike trust in God’s healing power which children naturally have.
The account reads: “A little girl, who had occasionally listened to my explanations, badly wounded her finger. She seemed not to notice it. On being questioned about it she answered ingenuously, ‘There is no sensation in matter.’ Bounding off with laughing eyes, she presently added, ‘Mamma, my finger is not a bit sore.’
“It might have been months or years before her parents would have laid aside their drugs, or reached the mental height their little daughter so naturally attained” (p. 237 ).
My thought flooded with a feeling of love and peace as I stood at the kitchen sink, pondering this story. I felt so grateful for the trust in Spirit this little girl had, illustrated by her childlike dismissal of matter. And I felt God’s presence, the presence of divine Love. I realized that I, too, could demonstrate the same quality of trust this little girl so naturally expressed. The discomfort subsided as I rested in this tangible sense of God’s love and mercy. I felt worthy of Love’s embrace at that moment—in other words, I felt the “willingness” of divine Love to comfort me. I didn’t waste time with any other thoughts such as self-condemnation for not being more careful, or being upset over the inconvenience of the injury.
The next thought went something like this: Even though this little girl grew up long ago, here I am finding the inspiration I need now from her beautiful example. I really felt such appreciation for this dear girl, whom I will never personally know. Then I felt so much gratitude for Mary Baker Eddy for including that story in the Christian Science textbook.
I put a bandage on the finger and went back out to continue working on the patio with my friend. For the next several days, I changed the bandage each morning without giving the finger too much attention. There was almost no discomfort associated with the injury during the time it was healing. Within a week, it wasn’t possible to tell which finger had been injured.
Christ Jesus is recorded as having stressed to his disciples that they needed to have a childlike trust in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. Mary Baker Eddy defines the Kingdom of Heaven in part as “the reign of harmony in divine Science” and “the atmosphere of Spirit, where Soul is supreme” (p. 590 ). With childlike trust in God’s love, I felt myself in that kingdom in those moments of silent prayer at the kitchen window.
The quick and complete healing of the finger truly was secondary to the wonderful, tender sense of love that I felt. The richness and beauty of Christian Science never diminish as I grow in a fuller understanding of this wonderful Truth.
Erik Carlson
The Dalles, Oregon, US
About the author
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