Defining Moments

As you may know, I’ve had a few posts lately about the tragedy in Japan.  It started with a question in my “Ask Sheri” column, and one of my readers recently posted a comment I thought deserved a bit more attention …

“Hi Sheri

I wanted to know the real answer to this question.I know god didnt do it out of vengeance.I wanted to know whether its a time of planetery karma for us all.Does god really have no control over environmental effects and is it really caused by the development of buildings by humans?.You said you felt the sadness of the divine.I wanted to know even if god did it ,is it for our souls development to become people focused less on ourselves and materialistic items but more of love and compassion for others?

When the incident happened to JAPAN.I felt really sad…I didnt think oh god is so cruel..i knew there must be a bigger plan for it,Because i do know JAPAN is a country of people with so much of love,compassion and respect and giving people to one another even in the time of crisis.Did god perhaps want us to see how this nation reacts for one another in crisis in such a calm manner compared to other nations?”  ~ Cindy

Dear Cindy,

What you’re asking is probably more of a question about personal faith and belief systems.  While my “rant” / answer to this question was more against those who feel others deserve destruction, I didn’t give further explanation on purpose.  You’ve called me out on that.  😉

I avoided saying more because I feel passionately about this topic, and I don’t want to step on any toes.  However, I do not feel that God causes devastation.  I am one of those people who were brought up to believe otherwise, that God punishes us with weather and other supernatural forces, but my experiences had me nixing that belief a long time ago.

I do not believe any of what’s going on now was caused by Divine intervention.  I do, however, believe what we are seeing has something to do with natural consequences.

As Daffy Duck would say, “Consequences Shmonsequences.”  Well, I think we’ve said that a bit too much, and it’s coming back to bite us.

Heaven isn’t interfering with the path we have chosen because we freely chose it; they’re quite big on free will up there.

Do I believe the Divine hopes we can turn this around or make the best out of a horrible situation, thus improving the development of our souls and forcing us to be less self-absorbed and more compassionate toward others?  Yeah, I would think so.  I believe our heavenly guardians want what’s best for us.

So, why do they want what’s best for us but don’t save us from ourselves?  Well, now that’s a much more complicated answer.  I don’t pretend to know everything about how Heaven works, but I view our heavenly guardians much the way I view good parents.

Would a parent knowingly let their child die before their time?  Absolutely not, and our guardian angels would prevent that from happening to us as well.  However, an earthly parent might never allow their child to perish, but heavenly beings have a different viewpoint and understand things differently than we do.  Our “heavenly parents” watch over, protect, teach and guide us to the best of their ability, but they won’t make decisions for us.  Unlike many earthly parents, our heavenly parents don’t always let us avoid the consequences of our actions either.

Even though the situation with Japan is heartbreaking and horrible in most every way, every situation presents an opportunity to grow and learn.  How we as humans respond to such tragedy will determine our most defining moments.  Who are humans?  What has become of humanity?  Will we create more destruction and chaos, and will there be a silver lining to all this?  Only time will tell as those questions will be answered by the free will our beloved selves.

~ Sheri

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