Suna Migori, Kenya — When I was little, my mother described God’s care for all His children this way: Like a mother hen brooding over her chicks, she told me, God loves and watches out for each one of us. No one is ever left out. No matter how many chicks there are, the mother hen makes sure they all fit safely under her wings. God cares for each of us in the same way. (more…)

Highlands Ranch, Colorado, US — I love the way the blessing of Christian Science embraces my entire family. The ideas in the Bible and Science and Health have been helpful to me as a parent, sure. And they’ve also helped my children help themselves.

One example that remains poignant is a healing one of my sons had when he broke his wrist after he fell doing the high jump in eighth grade. This son had always loved God. He had a conviction that God was his Father-Mother and that he could depend on God for anything. He told me that he prayed right away and the thought that came was this: I know God didn’t do this. And he said he knew, too, that what God was doing was caring for him—every moment.

The healing was quick and natural for my son. At no point was he ever in pain. We prayed that evening, and the next day we were asked to see an orthopedic surgeon. An X-ray showed that all the bones and splinters in my son’s arm had gone back into place—which the surgeon said no doctor could have done. My son wore a cast so he could participate in the season district track opener, but within about three weeks, it was off. He was completely healed.

What more could a parent want for her child?

São Paulo, Brazil — I was involved in an accident at a construction site. At the end of the day, having already taken off my protective gear, I was sprayed in the face by a chemical compound. The pain was intense and I couldn’t see. And I was alone.

However, I’ve learned from studying Christian Science that I’m actually never alone. I’m always in the presence of God. I’ve learned that I can acknowledge and appeal to that presence, a presence which is infinite good. So I did that. And I felt safe knowing that no evil could harm me because I was surrounded by God. Because I was God’s spiritual creation.

I remembered the psalm that says, “If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there … even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me” (Ps. 139).

I realized I could apply all of the things I’d learned from reading the Bible right then. I wasn’t alone; I had God—and all the understanding I needed.

My healing was fast and permanent. There are no scars, and I didn’t miss a day of work. I’m grateful every day for Christian Science, which has showed me that this kind of healing is not only possible, it’s natural.

Dallas, Texas, US — Christian Science has taught me that I don’t have to buy into traditional views about worth—mine, or anyone else’s. For example, I grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, where many who’d left home to make their way in the US were welcomed back as heroes. It was easy to get caught up in that hero worship. Sometimes I did. I felt unworthy and inadequate next to these cultured, modern people.

But my parents, and the teachers I’d had in the Christian Science Sunday School, had taught me something very different. They’d taught me that my worth comes from being made in God’s image, from being the reflection of God. I’d learned that my very being attests to the goodness of God. That everyone’s does.

It can seem almost natural to buy into comparisons. To judge our worth based on the accomplishments—or failings—of those around us. That’s what the world teaches us to do. And yet, I’ve seen over and over in my own life that a human definition of worth is never an accurate measurement of any of us. I know now that what I’ve learned in Christian Science is true. No human circumstances can determine my worth. Only God does that. Only God can do that.

Encinitas, California, USA — I’ve found something in Christian Science that I can’t find anywhere else. It’s this: That when I pray, any discordant situation in my life is healed. But I also experience spiritual progress and transformation. And that’s the real gift.

One example that stands out is a healing I had of a severe and painful skin condition on both my legs. I have been enormously grateful for this healing. But the bigger change that occurred as the result of my prayers was not the disappearance of the rash, but a more unselfish and less critical approach to the way I view and think about others.

At times during the course of this healing-nights that seemed especially difficult-I would think of each of my colleagues at work. My friends and family, too. I’d acknowledge their God-created spiritual makeup-as well as my own. As I did this, my preoccupation with myself-and the physical condition-started to fade. Eventually, every symptom disappeared until my legs were completely normal again.

Thanks to Christian Science, I feel like a new person-more loving and selfless. But what I know is that actually, I’m just seeing myself the way God made me to be.