No need to peep!
Peep! My daughter’s bedroom was in the basement. Peep! Peep! She came upstairs to tell me about the noise. Peep! Peep! Peep! She was trying to get her homework done. She wanted the noise to stop!
We went downstairs together and saw a baby bird standing just outside the window. He was peep-peep-peeping at the top of his lungs! My daughter and I looked at each other. What was all the peeping about?
We called the city’s animal department. A nice lady came to our house with a small net on a long handle. She gently scooped the little bird right up and shooed him off into a nearby bush.
“Don’t you worry,” she told us. “You can be sure that peeping bird’s mommy can hear him loud and clear. She knows right where he is.”
We were relieved! The next time we looked outside, the baby bird was gone. We were sure his mommy had shown him a safe place to be.
I remembered that peeping baby bird just the other day. I was thinking about how God takes care of us all just like a loving daddy or mommy does. When I was a little girl, I learned a prayer in the Christian Science Sunday School that taught me to think about God this way.
The prayer I learned is called the Lord’s Prayer. It’s a prayer Jesus taught his friends to pray. Maybe you know it, too. It starts, “Our Father which art in heaven.”
Mary Baker Eddy loved this prayer. She learned it very well. Then she listened closely to God and wrote her own words to go with Jesus’ words. The first line she wrote says, “Our Father-Mother God, all-harmonious” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 16 ). I like how she added “Mother” right beside “Father” in the prayer. “Father-Mother God” makes me think of God like a really good parent who is both strong and wise, tender and kind.
Sometimes I hear about something scary. Then I pray by asking God if I’m safe. I hear a thought that is firm and clear—just like a helpful Father would tell me. It says I’m safe now and forever because He’s always with me.
Sometimes I feel sad because someone I love moves away. Then I pray by asking God to help me feel happy again. I hear a thought that is comforting and gentle—just like a loving Mother would tell me. It tells me that all the good I love about my friend is still right here, because good comes from God so it’s always with us.
Next time you say the Lord’s Prayer, you can remember that you don’t have to peep, peep, peep, to get your Father-Mother God’s attention. He helps you. She loves you. And there’s no place you can be where your divine Parent isn’t aware of you—and taking care of you.
