When our first son was young, he was such a happy boy, who loved laughing and bouncing higher and higher in his bouncy seat when he was not yet walking. But his joy was disrupted as a rash appeared and spread quickly over his body—almost head to toe. Although we made strong efforts to comfort and care for our sweet boy, for a time things worsened.

As Christian Scientists, we were used to relying upon prayer for healing and had experienced many instances of God’s loving and tender care in times of trouble. Now, as young parents, we desired the same reliable care for our son.

We realized that this same rash had occurred in, and greatly hindered the activity of, relatives on both sides of our family. My mother, when a girl, had suffered from a similar condition off and on over many years. She eventually experienced complete healing in adulthood when she found Christian Science (see Lorna D. Gerbing, Sentinel, March 24, 1986).

We realized that the suggestion of the hereditary nature of this rash was very strong, and we mentally rejected this claim for our son, trusting these truths from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: “Heredity is not a law” (p. 178) and “God is the parent Mind, and man is God’s spiritual offspring” (p. 336). These strong statements of spiritual truth were written by Mary Baker Eddy, whose lifelong quest was to discover the healing laws that Christ Jesus taught and practiced and to share them with those in need.

Jesus healed a man who had been blind since birth by refuting the concept of material heritage. To those who asked, “Who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus was emphatic in saying, “Neither”—and then affirming rather “that the works of God should be made manifest in him” (John 9:2, 3).

It was also comforting to share with our little boy a prayer “to the Little Children,” also by Mrs. Eddy: 

Father-Mother God,
Loving me,—
Guard me when I sleep;
Guide my little feet
Up to Thee.
(Poems, p. 69)

Insisting upon our son’s spiritual ancestry as the offspring of his Father-Mother God, and upon the fact that he could inherit only God’s goodness by reflection, quickly relieved the situation, and the rash diminished and then totally disappeared.

A few years later, our younger son, who was middle-school age at the time, had an outbreak of the same rash, though less severe. Again, our firm conviction and acknowledgment of his divine sonship, not bound by material or human parental history, led to complete healing.

Both sons are now adults with their own families, including college-age children, and there has been no further appearance of this rash among any family members. The supposed hereditary chain has been broken, and once again God’s tender, loving care for all His children has prevailed.

Our older son has no recollection of his earlier discomfort, but the sweetness of this healing has remained with him. He now travels the world on business and says that he often recalls Mrs. Eddy’s prayer “to the Little Children” when falling asleep at night, and continues to find it comforting.

Holly Gerbing Harrington
Kalamazoo, Michigan, US