Dear Sentinel

From children and young people

with contributions from Heather Bowness, Julee Robinson

Dear Sentinel,

One day our cat Sugar was missing. We went looking for her everywhere. People said maybe she was stolen or run over by a car.

My mum and I prayed to know that Sugar was not lost and could never be harmed because God was always keeping her safe. We saw that if we listened to error, or frightening thoughts, then we couldn't hear God. We promised each other to listen always to God.

I called my Sunday School teacher and asked her to pray, too. She told me to look at a poem by Mary Baker Eddy that is set to music in the Christian Science Hymnal (No. 207). The bit that helped the most was "His arm encircles me, and mine, and all." We thought about Sugar's gentleness, kindness, and loveliness, and how these qualities can't be lost.

We read the twenty-third Psalm in the Bible. We thought of God as her Shepherd, therefore Sugar must be safe. We decided to let God take care of us all.

Later that day, my mum had an idea. The idea was that Sugar was in the tent trailer. It was all folded down and locked. My mum jiggled the door. She heard a faint "meow." Mum had to get the key to let her out. Sugar had been in there for eighteen hours and it was very hot, but she came out looking as cool as a cucumber.

When Dad came home, he told us he had opened the trapdoor on the trailer the night before. Sugar must have jumped in, and he didn't know she was in there when he shut it. We were so grateful because God showed us that Sugar was not lost but at home all the time.

I learnt not to listen to error, because all I need to know is from God. He is Love, ever present, everywhere, for everyone. No goodness can ever be lost.

Sincerely, Heather Bowness Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada

Dear Sentinel,

In the past couple of years I have really started to understand Christian Science, and it has really helped me overcome a lot of things. I have learned that God does not make fear—we do. We alone give fear power by believing in evil. So why not trust in God, good?

I no longer fear much of anything. I won't let myself, because nothing good comes from it. This fact can really help you when you are feeling vulnerable.

Love,
Julee Robinson
Hemet, California

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