One Sunday Afternoon

God is Love. That’s something I’ve known since youth. Last April during the early part of pregnancy, things were not going well. A miscarriage was a strong possibility. One Sunday afternoon brought frightening symptoms. A call to my doctor brought no reassurance, for he advised me that I must plan to go to the emergency room should my symptoms persist.

The prayer in my heart became a verbal plea to the Lord as my husband and I knelt together. Arms about each other, we asked our Father in Heaven that all would be well, yet concluded the prayer with our acceptance that His will be done. When you agree to accept the will of God you must prepare yourself in the event that His will may not be your will. As I rose from that prayer I still felt a nagging apprehension.

My father and mother were called. As my father placed his hands upon my head, his words, “… this oil consecrated for use in the households of the faithful …” anointed comfort to my soul. And then an unforgettable sensation: it seemed the oil held an unusual warmth, yes, an unusual warmth, and that warmth was flooding through me. Apprehension drained away. My entire being was suffused with the healing power of a loving Father-God and I felt most strongly that burning in the bosom referred to in scripture. Tears welled in still-closed eyes.

Soothed and healed by God, the symptoms vanished. In November our beautiful baby boy was born. And still this experience testifies to me. God is Love.

Janet Gundersen Parberry
(From Twentieth Century Daughters of Light.)