On a family vacation when I was a child, my father was lowering the car and trailer with a large jack when the handle suddenly released and hit me forcefully in the jaw. I remember feeling severe pain and going inside the trailer and putting my head in my mother’s lap. I knew she was praying for me. In a short time, I felt better, and our vacation activities continued harmoniously. 

Several years later, I noticed a clicking in my jaw. Around the same time, a conversation I overheard about the seriousness of injuries to the jaw reminded me of the incident just described. I assumed that the clicking was a result of that experience. Some time after this, my jaw began to feel sore and became swollen, and my teeth did not fit together, making biting and chewing difficult. 

Mary Baker Eddy writes, “The human history needs to be revised, and the material record expunged” (Retrospection and Introspection, p. 22). As I pondered these words, I began to think about what had actually happened after the jack handle hit my jaw. I knew that my mother had prayed, that my parents loved me, and that our vacations expressed joy, togetherness, love, and adventure. I also knew that God had always been there, caring for each of us.