Several years ago, my wife and I had the opportunity to visit Normandy, France, and explore the five D-Day beaches where the Allied forces landed on June 6, 1944. Our excursion included visits to three war cemeteries. What struck me at the British Bayeux War Cemetery was that each headstone bore a personal inscription chosen by the soldier’s family.
Standing among the 4,648 headstones there and having seen the graves of more than 35,000 soldiers across the three cemeteries, I suddenly felt a deep wave of grief. The sheer magnitude of all those deaths overwhelmed my thoughts.
Through my study of Christian Science, I have learned that our thoughts control our experience. Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of Christian Science, writes in her book “Unity of Good,” “Everything is as real as you make it, and no more so. What you see, hear, feel, is a mode of consciousness, and can have no other reality than the sense you entertain of it” (p. 8).
As I stood in that cemetery, I prayed for a firmer grasp of the spiritual fact that the human picture before me of lives cut short by the misery of war was not the true story. This was the human, not the spiritual, narrative. I reasoned that the consciousness of God’s love is light that frees us from the darkness of sin, fear, disease, lack, death, and more, and that these individuals were not defined by a beginning and a tragic end. Life in and of God is eternal, and I prayed to see more clearly that their true identity as children of God remained untouched, undiminished, and ever-unfolding.
Then my wife called me over to read an inscription on one of the headstones: “‘His arm encircles me, and mine, and all.’ –Mary Baker Eddy.” This is a line from a beloved poem by Mrs. Eddy, “Mother’s Evening Prayer” (“Poems,” p. 4).
There was an answer to my prayer. These words have brought light to countless prayers, turning hearts – including mine – from a material perspective to the true, spiritual reality of life and being. I was deeply moved to reflect on whoever had chosen that line for the headstone of their loved one. They, too, had likely been praying for comfort and inspiration, affirming that divine Love had not abandoned their family member but was tenderly embracing him – and all.
I thought of a statement often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi: “All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.” In that moment, I felt an overwhelming sense of God’s embracing love. The understanding that “God is love” (I John 4:16) was breaking through the illusion of darkness, destruction, and death. It was the presence of God illuminating my thought. It assured me that if God was present for me, then divine Principle, Mind, Soul, Spirit, Life, Truth, and Love – Bible-based synonyms for God – were equally present for that soldier, for his loved ones, and for all.
Even now, I can feel the quiet power of that moment. It wasn’t just a comforting sentiment; it was an illumination of spiritual fact. God’s love was actively encircling me, and this same divine presence is available to anyone, anywhere, at any time.
The full stanza containing the line quoted reads:
Love is our refuge; only with
mine eye
Can I behold the snare,
the pit, the fall:
His habitation high is here,
and nigh,
His arm encircles me, and
mine, and all.
This isn’t just poetry but a promise – and a spiritual road map for those yearning to move from fear, grief, or confusion into the light of God’s peace and love. Those we love, those we may worry about, those who have passed on, are safely held in God’s embrace.
To read that line on a soldier’s headstone was to perceive a message of eternal belonging. It was the still, small voice of divine Truth whispering, “You are not forgotten. You are not a victim. You are not outside of My love.” This message is true for each of us, in every trial.
Christian Science teaches that our Father-Mother’s love is infinite, impartial, and ever present. We are all children of God, and He loves us infinitely. This belovedness is the changeless truth of man’s being as God’s offspring. His love cannot be withdrawn, diminished, or broken. It surrounds you and me, upholds and defines us all, now and forever. Even in our darkest hours, the strong, comforting arm of divine Love is still encircling you and yours and all, now and always!
Adapted from an article published in the May 18, 2026, issue of the Christian Science Sentinel.
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