One bright day on the drive home from Tom's and B.J.'s school, Mama asked if anybody wanted to go to the park. Katy and Laney clapped their hands, and Tom and B.J. shouted, "Yeah, yeah." B.J. was so excited, he held his folder with his kindergarten papers out of the car window. He was pretending it was an airplane All of a sudden it was an airplane. It flew right out of B.J.'s hand and landed on the sidewalk.

Mama drove to the side of the street and let B.J. hop out to get his folder. He was glad the papers were still in it. Katy and Laney and Tom watched B.J. run and pick up his folder. Then he jumped back in the car and shut the door.

All of a sudden Katy began to cry hard. The door was shut on her fingers. Mama quickly opened the door, and B.J. told Katy he was very sorry. Mama took Katy up front beside her and tried to comfort her.

In another minute they were at the park. Laney and Tom and B.J. ran off to the swings. But Katy was still crying. Mama carried Katy to a park bench and sat with her on her lap. Mama talked about some of the good things they knew about God. Katy whispered she knew God would heal her. Mama sang quietly some of Mrs. Eddy's words from a hymn: "O gentle presence, peace and joy and power...." ^{Christian Science Hymnal, No. 207.} There were words about Love (God) guarding the nestling's flight, and Katy tried to sing them, just a little. Then Mama said the psalm about "The Lord is my shepherd," ^{See Ps., chap. 23.} which Katy liked very much. She liked to think of shepherds taking care of little lambs.

"God is our shepherd, Katy. God is Love, and He takes care of us just like the shepherd and his lambs. We're His little lambs—His loveys—right now. You and I and B.J. and Laney and Tom," Mama said.

Katy still was not using her hand. So Mama said, "Let's call a Christian Science practitioner to pray for us." They went to the red phone booth by the pond. The practitioner told Mama that we can always know that God takes care of His child. Then Katy listened closely as the practitioner told her that Mrs. Eddy says, "Love wipes your tears all away...." ^{Hymnal, No. 298.} Katy smiled. Mama had told her that before. And sometimes Mama called her "lovey" because she came right from Love.

Now Katy felt cheerful. She wanted to go on the swings. Mama took her over where the other children were and helped her into one of the chair swings. Katy leaned back in the swing. She held tightly with both hands and laughed and told Mama to push her very high.

"Hi Tom, Hi B.J." she called out to the boys. "Tom is a lovey. Laney is a lovey. B.J. and Mama and Daddy—everybody is a lovey. Because God loves us."

Author's note for parents:

Christian Science treatment is actually an awakening to God's power. In yielding to His ability to keep creation in perfect order, we affirm the spiritual fact that God, the one Mind, knows all that is known and that all is good.

In the story about Katy, I am Mama. I was baby-sitting for B.J. and Laney and caring for them and my own children. Even before this incident I was longing to see more clearly the spiritual nature of our relationship to each other. I needed to give up a burdened sense of responsibility and frustration. I had even asked a Christian Science practitioner to pray for me because I wanted to understand better the nature of God and His child. We talked about the first part of the definition of "children" found in the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy: "Children. The spiritual thoughts and representatives of Life, Truth, and Love." ^{Science and Health, p. 582.}

When I spoke with the practitioner, asking for help with Katy, I needed to shake off the feeling that I had failed in caring for the children. Also, Tom and Katy and I were accustomed to immediate healings. Burns, upset stomach, fevers, falls, and emotional upsets had been relieved and healed—sometimes in a matter of minutes. So I was surprised and somewhat fearful when the hand injury lingered and Katy was in pain.

The practitioner reminded me that God is in charge of upholding and protecting His children. The thought came to me, "God maintains Katy's perfection!" A sense of relief came over me, and I thought, "Father, forgive me for thinking You couldn't take care of Your child." At that point I knew that our time together allowed no interjection of pain, hurt, or resentment. As Mrs. Eddy says, "All of God's creatures, moving in the harmony of Science, are harmless, useful, indestructible." ^{ibid., p. 514.}

I knew that one of God's children could not hurt another and that, therefore, there could be no hurt feelings or fear connected with the children. I'm certain that this deeper understanding of reality coincided with Katy's healing. As it became clear that God, Love, directed our activities and relationships, I also had a refreshing sense of my own ability and nature as a child of God.