For Teens December 24, 2018 Issue

Christmas comfort

Lizzie Witney

Lying in bed was not the way I’d planned to spend the days leading up to Christmas. But while my family was downstairs enjoying the football game and preparing a meal together, I was alone in my bedroom, curled up under the blankets. Not only did I feel unwell, but I was also feeling sorry for myself, because the plans for this Christmas hadn’t turned out the way I’d initially hoped they would.

I’d had healings of both physical problems and emotional issues when I’d prayed as taught in Christian Science. So while I was in bed, I was reading the weekly Christian Science Bible Lesson (found in the Christian Science Quarterly), trying to learn more about God and His love for me and looking for inspiration to help me pray. The thing was, the Lesson wasn’t inspiring me, because I was too caught up in thinking about how bad I felt.

After an hour or so my brother came up to see me. To be honest, I was hoping for his sympathy. Instead, he suggested that I could make the most of the day by going downstairs and being grateful for all the good I was seeing. I knew he was thinking of gratitude as sort of an active prayer—one that would allow me to appreciate God’s goodness and enjoy some of the family activities at the same time.

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