Religion

/

Health

The God Squad: An angry God wink

Rabbi Marc Gellman, Tribune Content Agency on

We assume that all God winks are positive loving supportive messages from our dearly departed. That is not true. If our loved ones were not happy with our behavior while they were alive, why would we assume that they are all of a sudden warm and fuzzy and supportive after they die? F makes the point…

Q: Rev 21:4 says, “…there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.” So, it seems to me the people in heaven do not know what’s going on here on earth. If some of them knew all the bad things that their relatives were doing here on earth then there would be a lot of sorrow, crying and much pain for those already in heaven. – F

Here is a God wink with an angry edge…

Q: I have a God wink, but not so much on the “touching” side! My mom died somewhat unexpectedly at 89, eight years ago. My 75-year-old older sister has lived at home with my parents her whole life. She’s a bit on the dysfunctional side, enabled by my mom. So, when my younger sister and I decided two weeks after my mom’s death, to donate her clothes to a thrift store, my older sister was not happy. The clothes would still be there to this day, had we not. I took the clothes in plastic bags to the store, pulled in next to the curb and got a shopping cart from the store to haul the bags in. The cart was on the sidewalk next to my SUV, and there was a strip of weeds/dirt in between the sidewalk and curb. As I opened the tailgate, I was startled by a loud bang! The cart had come off the sidewalk, went through the weeds/dirt and struck the side of my SUV by the gas tank door, leaving a creased dent! There was no wind, and the cart didn’t tip into my car. Immediately I thought, sarcastically, “Thanks, mom, I got your message!” She wasn't happy we got rid of her clothes against my older sister’s wishes, and knowing I have always been a stickler about my cars, she hit me where it hurt! – (From D)

A: The majority of God winks I receive are completely natural events that because of their timing become much more than a coincidence. It makes me convinced that many God winks happen unnoticed in our lives because we are just not paying attention. I also think it is not a good idea to test God or our deceased loved ones by specifying a time for the delivery of a God wink. It is far better to remain hopeful and patient to receive whatever is sent at whatever time it is delivered.

Here are two examples of ordinary events that might be something more…

Q: My grandma died in 1999 at age 95. Her last name translated to “Elephant “ from Italian and she collected elephants. I’m a New Yorker who worked in the finance industry and could see the World Trade Center from my office windows. People I knew died there. I was traumatized and terrified for my three young children. One night I crawled into my bed crying and asked my grandma to send me a sign that we were going to be all right. Businessperson that I am, I wanted a deliverable date, so I said “tomorrow”.

 

The next morning my parents “popped in”, something they have never done before or since. Over coffee we were watching the US begin the invasion of Afghanistan. My mom pulled some trinkets out of her pocketbook and said, “Here, give these to the kids to play with.” Among the trinkets was a tiny ivory button in the shape of an elephant that my grandmother had. I remembered it but haven’t seen it in many years.

I still can’t believe that actually happened, but it did! -- (From C)

Q: Our family was never particularly demonstrative but we knew we were loved. As my mother got older she would call me on occasion singing the Stevie Wonder song, "I just Called to Say I Love You". On my birthday, after her death, my husband and I decided to walk into a little gift shop in a quaint village. When we entered, "I Just Called to Say I Love You" was playing in the shop … on my birthday! I took it as a message from Mom. – (From S)

(Send ALL QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS to The God Squad via email at godsquadquestion@aol.com. Rabbi Gellman is the author of several books, including “Religion for Dummies,” co-written with Fr. Tom Hartman. Also, the new God Squad podcast is now available.)

©2024 The God Squad. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.


(c) 2024 THE GOD SQUAD DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.

 

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus

 

Related Channels

Billy Graham

Billy Graham

By Billy Graham

Comics

Daryl Cagle Mother Goose & Grimm Fowl Language Gary Varvel Aunty Acid Bizarro