YOUR LETTERS

"'Jamie and the plastic petunia' helped my daughter Sara and me when she was not feeling well one day."

with contributions from Elizabeth Harned, Ron Kelley, Henry Rutledge

Readers respond to February 8 issue

"Jamie and the plastic petunia" helped my daughter Sara and me when she was not feeling well one day. By afternoon she was having difficulty participating in family activities. This wonderful little story was a great starting point in our prayers. Sara was upset with her own behavior during the previous week. She realized, as Jamie did, that she "had not been feeling very loving or Godlike lately." We discussed how "there was only one Mind and all of us reflected that Mind." so she could look forward to being more loving and caring with others. We went on to read the "Dear Sentinel" letters from other children and were inspired by these, too. Within a few minutes Sara said that she felt much better and that her tummy didn't hurt anymore. We are so grateful for these articles and letters from other kids.

Elizabeth Harned
White Plains, Maryland

I appreciated "Healing the lonesome heart." But the archaic language of the King James Version is misleading. The meeting place of Ruth and Boaz was not a field of corn as Americans think of the crop, but a field of grain—wheat and barley—which is why we find Ruth gathering among the "sheaves" and not the "stalks." Modern Bible translations make this clear.

While the point of the story of Ruth is the same whether we think of her as gathering corn or wheat, reading these stories from contemporary Bible translations in the language of the day helps to make the Bible more understandable and revelent.

Ron Kelley
Weiser, Idaho

"Healing the lonesome heart" brings a familiar Bible story into everyday living and thinking. This article brings comfort to the thousands of readers who may have problems with living alone.

"Swords into plowshares" shows how ecumenical a church can be. We can be grateful that Chaplain Resnicoff consented to an interview. The military chaplaincy has probably done the most in uniting religions.

Henry Rutledge
Davis, California

The Sentinel invites your comments. Please include your name, address, and daytime telephone number. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of the Christian Science Sentinel.

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