The first impression of Niagara Falls, that great semicircle of dashing waters, is of energy and power unconfined; yet the whirlpool rapids below the falls suggest pentup confusion. The river that had broadened out, swirling round a large island, suddenly plunges into a deep gorge, and the great mass of waters is forced, foaming and struggling, between high walls of rock. At the narrowest point the waters are chaotic, tossing and tumbling, breaking into waves that appear to be running upstream, in a swirl of spray. Looking at those rapids, one finds it impossible to tell which way the river is flowing. But it is moving forward, and a little farther on escapes from the gorge and widens out into a broad channel, where the waters flow swiftly and calmly on.
Is this not typical of many human lives? For some time they flow on serenely, and may be broadening out, when some unexpected event plunges them into an entirely different environment, and for a time they may seem to be confined and restricted. To lookers on, these lives seem chaos; they appear to be making no progress, or even to be going back. Yet underneath the turmoil, in spite of the limits that fret and try them, they are still advancing, and soon they will escape from those restricting surroundings and broaden out again, moving steadily, swiftly, serenely forward.
It is at the chaotic stage, troubled and restricted by some unexpected event—perhaps severe illness, or sorrow, or business disaster—that many have found help and freedom in Christian Science. They have learned with relief that their trouble does not come from God, and that to be obedient to His will does not mean the acceptance of anything that would limit or hinder progress. On the contrary, a right understanding of His will brings freedom and more sure and steady progress. In the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mrs. Eddy writes (p. 224), "Truth brings the elements of liberty." It is the knowledge of the truth about God and His creation, of the infinite possibilities of all His children, that brings release from confining walls.
