Change and a feeling of uncertainty often go hand in hand. We tend to cling to the things we've become used to. When unknowns stand before us, we look for something known, something familiar, to hang on to for comfort and security. This is a natural thing to do. The problem is, though, that there is no inherent certainty in any material thing or circumstance; materiality is constantly subject to change. Perhaps, then, we ought to become more familiar with what is not subject to change—the truth of God and of our spiritual being as His reflection—and hold fast to that.

One who experienced considerable change in her life, much of it very disheartening, found reassurance in the teachings of Christ Jesus. The strength she gained from the Christ message is reflected in these verses from her poem titled "Christ My Refuge":

(Mary Baker Eddy, Poems, p. 12)

The certainty this woman, Mary Baker Eddy, found in Christ, Truth, sustained her and is available to each of us. The rock, or firm basis, on which Truth grounds us includes the fact of our spiritual identity as the image and likeness, or reflection, of God, our creator.

God's reflection, our actual being, is forever like Him—perfect, eternal, unchangeable. Man's life in God, divine Life, however, is also vital and dynamic, never static, always progressing spiritually from the standpoint of divine perfection. How could it be otherwise? To know this truth, and to be grounded on it, is not only to find comfort and security in the face of changes in our human experience. It is to find these changes made subject to the harmonizing power of Truth.

To cherish and hold fast to our spiritual being, then, is not a means of escape from change. It is a means of ensuring that any change will be guided by God, not by human will or so-called destructive "acts of God." Nothing destructive or harmful could ever express the action of divine Life, Truth, and Love. God's law is a law of progress and spiritual development. Understanding this brings the changes in our lives under God's absolute control. We find safety and security. And all of Jesus' teachings ground us on this truth. As Jesus said: "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock (Matt. 7:24, 25).

The teachings of Jesus recorded in the Gospels are a tremendous resource for finding certainty in the face of change. Hearing and following his teachings is one of the best ways of getting to know ourselves as God's spiritual reflection, because his instructions always direct us to obey God and to express the qualities of Truth and Love in our daily lives. The more we do this, the more certainly we'll know ourselves as we really are, God's reflection.

And the more we hold fast to our true, spiritual identity, the more we'll see positive changes taking place in our human experience—changes that improve our character, health, and overall well-being, and that benefit others as well. Instead of looking for security in changing material things and scenes, we'll be finding it in our unchanging, eternal relation to God. There is no uncertainty here. Only a secure and safe foundation on which to build.

Barbara M. Vining

II SAMUEL

The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; the God of my
deliverer; the God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence. . . . For
thou art my lamp, O Lord: and the Lord will lighten my darkness.

II Samuel 22:2, 3, 29