I was eager to visit my cousin and his family for the weekend. But when I arrived at their home, my cousin’s wife told me that their three children had chicken pox. I didn’t fear the disease or worry about getting it. I thought that growing up as one among six siblings, I’d surely had the condition as a child and was therefore immune to it.

Well, I was wrong! I felt perfectly well while visiting with the family, but a day or two after returning home I became very ill, exhibiting the same symptoms as the children. At the time, I lived alone and, being a fledgling in the study and practice of Christian Science, thought it wise to call a Christian Science practitioner for treatment through prayer.

I was impressed by the practitioner’s pure, loving thought. What stood out from our conversation was the idea of purity. It had such a profound impact on me. Throughout the day, I focused on this statement in the Bible: “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8)—one of the teachings known as the Beatitudes that Christ Jesus gave his followers in his Sermon on the Mount.