To Believe Is To See

There are so many ways to see and experience G-d isn’t there? Everyone is unique and He shows Himself to us in all kinds of different ways. Some who doubt only wish to see Him in a physical manner in which they can see and touch. They want to be able to stand in front of Him just as you and I can do so. They feel that without that “real” interaction, we simply are whimsical people looking for something to cling to rather than reality. It’s sad really. I genuinely feel sorry for these people. Because they obviously can’t manage to see or feel what is right there all around them.

There is a saying from a very well known movie, A Walk to Remember. “G-d’s love is like the wind. I can’t see it but I can feel that it’s there.” This saying popped back into my head along with some of the first verses in Genesis. Genesis 1: 1-2 (JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh): “When G-d began to create heaven and earth – the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from G-d sweeping over the water.” While at times, the wind isn’t always an enjoyable phenomenon; it certainly does make itself known doesn’t it? I have read that verse many times in the past but one day it really stood out to me because that day happened to be a windy one around here. And I couldn’t help but smile, wondering if G-d could be passing through. When you stand outside with the breeze gliding past you, ruffling your clothes and playing with your hair, who’s to say that couldn’t be one of the millions of ways that G-d says hello with this incredible creation of Him.

Another example for me was when I was visiting one of the museums out there. It was the museum of science and history and like most, it has an IMAX theater. I got to see a movie about undersea creatures, or more specifically, the Sardine Runs in South Africa. It took you through the migration of these sardines that are so large in number, that by the time they pass by a specific area of South Africa, they come so close to shore that the people can run out into the waves with baskets, nets, and even upturned skirts and capture large amounts of them. What was incredible was to see how the creatures would all act; everything little thing that G-d programmed into them to survive and even work together. Let’s face it, fish are not known for intelligence. But when these sardines would come across predators like seals, they would swim together in this huge ball that would rotate. The seals were still able to get their mouths on some but it was effective, it was team work and it was really incredible to behold. Each fish would instinctively follow the one in front of it and this is what would result. It’s incredible! The beach where the sardines are supposed to arrive is filled with people that simply sit and watch nature to know when the time will be right. They watch how the seals and whales are acting and gathering. While I know that there are people that will still argue with this, but that is all G-d! No explosion of gases could have “accidently” put so much detail into nature.

Another place I see G-d is through the faces and touch of the people around me. Several years ago when I was a teenager, I was attending a funeral. It was an especially sad one because it was a result of an unfortunate suicide of a young boy. I didn’t know really know him but I knew his sister pretty well and I went to offer my respects to her and her family. The whole atmosphere was so sad and the grief was almost literally heavy in the air. You couldn’t help but cry. I went through the line to hug and speak to all the family members and at the very end was the grandfather. He was this old man with a gray suit that I had never actually seen before but will never forget. I put out my hand to shake his and he gently clasped my hand with both of his and silently looked me straight in the eye. I instantly felt a warmth and comfort sweep right through me. Even in a time of grief, this man was able to allow G-d’s love and compassion show in his face. Skeptics might say he was just a very nice man but I know in my heart that he was one with G-d and knew how to show His light to other people, even without a word.

One that is a given is the innocence of children. G-d shines considerably through them. I envy them to a point; they are able to hold to beliefs without question. Nothing is impossible. They look at a mountain that goes above the cloud line and they see a stairway straight into heaven. They see a moon that is barely visible and they call it G-d’s thumb nail. When I was little and we had a thunderstorm passing over, I would picture G-d and His angels having a bowling match up above us. I had a friend with two small children who were trying to understand their grandmother’s death. They were trying to understand how people can say “she’ll always be with you.” So the three of us were sitting outside one day and they started talking about it. Just then I saw three of four butterflies fluttering by in a group. I pointed them out to the kids and asked if they had heard of butterfly kisses. They said yes, and I told them that butterflies help G-d by bring kisses down from heaven to the people who are still here. After that they would squeal and smile every time they saw a butterfly and excitedly say that grandma was sending them kisses. It can all be seen as silliness, but, in my opinion, child-like faith is one of the most beautiful things out there.

G-d’s presence is limitless. He is beyond the physical that we know in this reality. And that is one of the reasons that I feel sorry for people that can’t bring themselves to acknowledge Him without “proof”. They give Him so little credit and limit Him to this small simple existence that we are in right now. He’s everywhere and in everything. A person doesn’t even have to try and look for Him. He’s always been there and will continue to be. It’s not about Him showing Himself to you. It’s about you opening your eyes to Him.

G-d Bless.

K