The duck

Mark B. Willard

My dad and I were walking on a lake pier when our attention was drawn to a large duck. He was furious and hurt by a hook caught in his throat. We approached the duck on the shore, but he tried to bite us, flapping his wings and making a loud distress call.

Being near a wildlife preserve, we drove over and explained to the man in charge what had happened. The director told Dad he had a meeting that would last for an hour, so he couldn't leave. He further explained that this type of duck had very sharp reversed teeth and that he didn't want to tangle with this one. However, he said, he might try to locate a veterinarian later. We then decided to return to the duck.

On the way back, Dad said, "Mark, do we know who can handle this?"

I answered, "God."

My dad said, "That's right. This is an opportunity to prove God heals."

We both silently turned to God in prayer. We declared God is good and all-powerful. We refused to believe that evil is real or a part of God's creation. Dad then explained to me that the truth Christ Jesus taught shows that all God's creation is forever free from every material bondage, and I remembered something I learned in the Christian Science Sunday School, which Mary Baker Eddy wrote: "Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need."^{Science and Healthy, p. 494;} In praying for this duck's freedom, we remembered what she says in another place, "A spiritual idea has not a single element of error, and this truth removes properly whatever is offensive."^{ibid., p. 463.}

On reaching the duck, we saw he was calmly standing on the lakeshore, his bill pointed to the ground. As we came near, he quacked and again looked down at the ground. There on the shore was the hook! The duck then quacked softly several times and swam away. It even looked as if he smiled! This trial had been a real opportunity to prove God's care for all His creatures and for me to grow in spiritual understanding.

[Healing experiences in Sentinel articles for children as well as adults are carefully verified.]

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