God Works In Many Ways

Kevin Thompson
June 3, 2010

In the last few weeks I have been in situations which were remarkably different and yet there was a common thread and that was that God can work through many different situations.

I was on my way to New York for a national meeting and while changing planes in Denver I received a call which changed my plans. A dear brother called from overseas to tell me that his 28 year old son had passed away suddenly in the Bay Area.

The father was clearly distraught and needed my help so I changed my flight and flew back to Oakland to begin the process of setting up a Seunghwa Ceremony. A whirlwind of activity ensued with family flying in from all over the country as well as overseas and arrangements being made with coroner and funeral home.

On Sunday May 23rd we held a Seunghwa in Sacramento. Emotions were running high and everyone was in shock at the sudden departure and the way that it happened. Nevertheless, I needed to bring some spiritual stability to the situation so that we could have a good send off. After all, Seunghwa means Ascension and Harmony. Amazingly, amid the grief and sadness, God's hand was at work. A certain peace came over the proceedings and family members who are not of our faith were deeply moved by the service. A couple of non-Unificationist family members approach me afterwards and wanted to hear more about our understanding of God and spirit world. Of course, as I always tell people at these occasions, when we see someone depart it is time to contemplate our own mortality and indeed that is what happens. People want to have some understanding of what is going to happen in the next world and we have a comprehensive view. So I saw the hand of God in action.

One week later I was in Los Angeles to conduct a wedding. What a contrast. What's not to love about weddings? Another very emotional experience but for very different reasons.

Again I saw the hand of God at work. People who witnessed the wedding (the couple were already blessed for 5 years but had never had a wedding to share with their family and friends until now) asked me afterwards to talk more about the meaning and value of marriage. They could see that we have a comprehensive view of the value of marriage, how to make a marriage last and where marriage fits into the purpose of life.

Never doubt that we have special insights into life's most meaningful moments and those insights came to us from our True Parents.