Standing on the rock

Nancy Hormel Reinert

There were five children in Marie's family, and she was right in the middle. She had two older sisters and a younger sister and brother. She liked to think of herself as one of the big kids with her two older sisters. Her brother and little sister were the little kids. But being one of the big kids meant that she had to help with the chores. Washing dishes after dinner, drying and putting them away, and feeding the cats were everyday chores the big kids took turns with. On Saturday everyone cleaned house.

One day, when it was Marie's turn to feed the cats, she opened a new can of cat food for a special treat and took it outside to the cats' bowls. The sharp lid of the can fell on the ground and somehow got caught between Marie's bare feet and cut both of her heels. The cuts hurt and started bleeding a lot.

Dad had just come home from work, so she called for him. When things went wrong, Marie would often call her dad to come and talk to her about Truth. Marie's family went to the Christian Science Church, and in Christian Science, Truth is a name for God. It is written with a capital T to show when it means God, who is the only power. God is eternal, and so divine Truth is much more than just an idea we think is right or some fact we've read in a book. Truth with a capital T was Marie's favorite way to think of God. Real Truth can't be changed or argued away. And Christ Jesus, through all of the healing that he did, showed us that we can be completely sure of Truth.