NEAR the brink of a giant waterfall, with the rapids surging round it, the writer observed a narrow strip of stones, on which grew three little bushes. Beyond, the wide expanse of water foamed and dashed towards them, like a stormy sea breaking on a rocky shore. A few feet away that troubled water plunged into a seething caldron of foam and spray. One could hardly imagine a place of greater turmoil and danger; and yet there those little bushes thrived, firmly rooted on their strip of island, bending their green branches before the wind and spray, drawing their nourishment from the scanty soil while the waters surged around them.
So, it is not always outwardly calm conditions that bring safety. Peaceful surroundings may result in a mental state of carelessness and ease which is apt to lead to disaster; whereas a position of seeming danger may call forth watchfulness and courage that develop strength and nobility of character. Some individuals thrive in the midst of turmoil and difficulty. Though apparently frail, they survive onslaughts that overwhelm others who appear strong and firm. What is their support? They rely on a power outside themselves, a power greater than the strongest forces in so-called human nature. They rely on God, not with a blind faith in a far-away Being they cannot understand, but with a correct knowledge of the nature and character of God, who is ever present and all-powerful. And they have gained this knowledge through the study and practice of Christian Science.
Instead of trying to worship and revere a God who, as they once believed, might be persuaded by their supplications to change His plans for them, Christian Scientists have learned to know God as the changeless Principle, of whom James writes; "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." They have also learned that Principle is Spirit, Life, Truth, Love, and is therefore not cold and abstract, but compassionate and loving, and that His plans for them can bring them only good and joy. Therefore they do not seek to change them, but to learn what they are. This brings the consciousness of safety and strength. In this knowledge they stand secure, undisturbed by surrounding discord. No material forces, however formidable in appearance, can sweep them away into a seeming abyss of disaster.
