Whether you head for the beach during a winter break or wait until summer, there’s nothing quite like being out in the sun. Everyone in my family loves to be outdoors. When I was growing up, we would play outside, even go to the beach, all day long.

Now my own kids are old enough to go out and play. So with the concerns going around about the dangers of being out in the sun, I’ve given plenty of thought to our time outside. Naturally, I want my kids to be safe. To that end, I’ve found myself revisiting an experience I had several years back.

Toward the end of one summer, I began to notice some strange splotches on my forearms. And they didn’t fade away along with my tan. In fact, they were becoming worse. I began to get concerned because of the prevalent warnings about the negative effects of sun.

Any time I feel that way, though, I pray. By that I mean I think about life from a more spiritual standpoint. I find this has wonderful results.

By striving to be more conscious of the original, spiritual condition of life—the harmony and perfection that God established—I experience more of this harmony. I not only better understand, but also experience, what it means to be a child of God.

A psalm in the Bible says, “O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.” Everyone was created to make known or to express God’s goodness—and that includes good health and well-being.

I was confident that, as a result of praying, I would feel and experience more of my safety as part of God’s creation and that the splotches wouldn’t prove to be a problem—or that they’d even disappear.

And I felt somewhat at peace. I trusted that as God’s expression, I had a life and identity that were defined by Him—an identity that was good and pure.

But I found there was something I had to resolve—my relationship with the sun. How did I think about it? What role was I giving it in my life?

I realized this wasn’t just about the sun. How about the environment around me in general? Did any of it have power to define me—to affect my health, my well-being, my identity? It has sure seemed this way at times.

From sunburns to discomfort because of the particles in the air, even to the comments or opinions of other people, I have often been affected by the elements around me. But as I continued praying about this issue, I began to see that I had a choice. In becoming more conscious of God and His care, I was seeing how those things outside me really didn’t have a role in designing my life.

My growing appreciation for God and His presence said it was time for a change in the way I thought about myself and my environment.

I knew I could do this by turning to God, the divine Mind, for input on who and what I am. And those elements around me, although tough and really in my face at times, would have no negative effect.

Science and Health explains, “Immortal Mind feeds the body with supernal freshness and fairness, supplying it with beautiful images of thought and destroying the woes of sense which each day brings to a nearer tomb.”

As a result of my prayer, my relationship with the sun changed. It wasn’t something to worship or to fear.

I still enjoy the sun. It brightens my day. It keeps my kids warm when they swim in cool water.

I also respect it. At least where I live in California it’s too intense to spend any considerable amount of time in it during the midday without feeling uncomfortable. My family generally sticks to cooler periods of the day for our excursions.

But we are free to enjoy God’s creation, which has all the purity of God’s goodness. It contains nothing that God hasn’t given us dominion over. It also contains nothing worthy of worship. God is the only power. He is only good. And only He defines us.

And the splotches? Well, they soon disappeared. My interest in being tanned has disappeared, too, but not because of fear. I don’t spend as much time out in the sun anymore; I’m just not as interested in doing so. I’ve learned that real beauty doesn’t come from the perfect tan but from the perfect goodness that God has already given me—and everyone.

The radiance of Love:

Science and Health
248:8

King James Bible
Ps. 105:1