THE numbers are amazing. According to general statistics produced by U-Haul International, Inc., in 1996:

• 17 to 20% of the United States population moves in a given year;

• nearly 45% of all moves occur between Memorial Day and Labor Day;

• out of a population of 255 million people, 40 to 50 million were projected as likely to move that year.

That's a lot of people! Whether we might be anxious about moving or feeling a spirit of adventure and new beginning, It's helpful to know that prayer can bring order, harmony, and gracious transition to a move. Understanding more of God's unchangeable goodness brings comfort and stability. Then, instead of being troubled about what is going to change, we can give attention to what is not going to change. God is Love. His love is constant, and His outpouring of good to man goes on forever. That is not going to change. The Bible provides many examples of people who were inspired to move and who experienced His constant, unchanging love. Ruth, Abraham, and Jacob are just three of them.

Here is something else that is not going to change. God is good. He imparts His goodness to man, who is spiritual, the image of God. As our Father's dear children, we cannot lose or be separated from His infinite goodness. In the midst of a move, this fact of God's invariable goodness brings confidence to our prayers. When speaking of the demand to prove these laws of God, Mary Baker Eddy states in her book Science and Health, "This is an element of progress, and progress is the law of God, whose law demands of us only what we can certainly fulfil" (p. 233). We can affirm that God's law of progress is governing us and everything of concern to us, including our move.

Home may appear to be a material place, but if you think of it as a mental concept, a whole new view opens up. We discover that what we really should cherish about our home is the light, warmth, beauty, and grace that it includes. These come from God, Spirit, not from a material structure. They are His attributes. Since God fills all space, these qualities are going to be wherever we go, though they may be expressed in new ways. Since God is ever present, we can't be separated from His attributes. They are in the consciousness that divine Mind imparts, and we can't leave them behind.

My husband and I had an opportunity to prove this several years ago when we moved to another state. In preparation, we took a trip to the new location to find a home to rent and to take care of some details about the move. Even though we were there during a holiday weekend, a real estate agent agreed to work with us as time seemed to be short. She had prepared a substantial list of houses for us to view. Shortly after we began our tour, we decided to commit ourselves to the truths we had learned from the Bible and from our study of Christian Science. The agent was also a student of this Science, and for a few moments the three of us quietly prayed.

On page 578, Science and Health refers to "house" when it gives the spiritual sense of the twenty-third Psalm, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house [the consciousness] of [LOVE] for ever." A great peace came over me as I knew that we could not be separated from the consciousness of Love, which was our true home. Not even for one moment could there be a lapse. We simply could not leave our true home behind. Knowing this, we could feel no burden or lack of opportunity. Nor were we subject to variable economic conditions or chance.

As the three of us walked into the second house on the agent's list, my husband and I both knew that this was our next home. Because we had prayed about and discussed the qualities included in our concept of home, we recognized what belonged to us. We didn't have to look any further. This house had gone on the market that day. It met our needs perfectly. Happen-stance? No, prayer.

Like the turtle that never leaves his home behind, so man, including all of God's ideas, never leaves his home behind. Because we are never separated from the consciousness of Love, all good goes with us. This turtle example is one a mother used to comfort her young daughter when they were moving. It's an illustration that little children can readily understand. And even those of us who are "big children" can find help in knowing this. We can also rely on God's law of harmony and peace to govern even the smallest details of our move. The Bible assures us, "In him we live, and move, and have our being" (Acts 17:28). Within His law there is absolutely no room for chaos or confusion.

Keeping God's laws of unchanging good and progress central in our thought will make for a happy and harmonious move.