Melting snow with my fingertips

Amy was excited. Her family had moved to a new house, and she was going to a new school. On the first day of class, the teacher introduced her to the other third-graders, and one of them took her for a tour of the school so she wouldn't get lost. It was going to be a good year, she was sure.

But after the second week, she began to wonder. The girls in her class weren't acting very friendly, and they wouldn't play with her. One night when she was in her bedroom, her mother came in and found her crying.

"What's the matter?" asked Mom.

"Oh, Mom, the girls at school don't like me. They run away from me on the playground, and they won't let me play with them."

Mom put her arms around Amy. "What about finding another girl to play with? There must be someone who needs a friend."

"Everyone already has a friend," complained Amy. When Mom raised an eyebrow, she added, "Really, Mom, I've tried!"

"So what do you think the problem is?"

"My teacher said all the girls in my class have been together since kindergarten, so they're used to each other."

"And what does that mean?"

"It means they don't need any more friends - at least that's what they told me."

"Did your teacher talk with the girls?"

"Uh-huh. She told them to play with me, but they won't."

Mom sat quietly and thought a moment. "I think we need to pray about this, don't you?"

Amy nodded. "Do you think we could call Mrs. Bready?" Mrs. Bready was a family friend and Christian Science practitioner.

Mom thought that was a good idea, too.

Amy asked Mom if she could talk with Mrs. Bready on the phone by herself. Eventually, Amy came out to the living room with a sweet smile on her face and said she was ready for bed.

Amy didn't talk about what Mrs. Bready said, but Mom noticed over the next couple of days that Amy seemed happier. She didn't cry at night, and she went to school a little more willingly.

A few days later, Amy came rushing into the kitchen, looking for her mother. "Hey, Mom," she said. "Do you remember that problem I had with the girls at school?"

"Yup," said Mom, sitting down at the table so she could listen better.

"Well, two of the girls asked if they could come over and play with me tomorrow. Can they?"

"Of course," said Mom. "But what happened?"

"I just did what Mrs. Bready suggested."

"And that was?"

"To melt the snow away with my fingertips." Amy twirled around in a little circle as she stretched her arms out to her sides. When her mother looked confused, Amy went on: "Don't you get it, Mom? God is Love. He's like the sun and I'm like a sunbeam, and the sunbeam melts away every cold and mean thought."

"How do you do that?"

"By thinking loving thoughts and by remembering that the sun and its sunbeams are always together. No sunbeam can be left out."

Mom smiled. She thought Amy had been feeling happier in the past few days. "That makes sense to me," Mom said. "So who did you say wanted to come over?"

"Amber and Kristy, but I was thinking it would be nice if all the girls could come over some time."

And that's what happened. All nine girls in the class came over for a sleepover, and when they left in the morning, they told Amy what a great time they'd had. Now Amy not only had nine new friends, but she'd learned a good lesson about melting cold thoughts away with Love. It wasn't always easy, but it was worth it.

Arise, arise and shine,
On thee hath dawned the day;
God is thy sun, and Christ thy light,
Be thou a steadfast ray.

Christian Science Hymnal, No. 14