MY GOD!

MY GOD!

Dr. Linda Hancock

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Hancock has written a regular weekly column entitled “All Psyched Up” for newspapers in two Canadian provinces for more than a dozen years. Over the years, her readers and clients have said that they have benefited from her common-sense solutions, wisdom, and sense of humour. Dr. Linda Hancock, the author of “Life is An Adventure…every step of the way” and “Open for Business Success” is a Registered Psychologist who has a private practice in Medicine Hat. She can be reached at 403-529-6877 or through email office@drlindahancock.com

Published

September 28 2026

Recently, my grandson’s new girlfriend asked me to tell her about the Holy Spirit and what that means. I replied with an easy explanation that I had heard once in a church service. Water can be frozen to make ice or heated to make steam. That makes three separate forms of the same thing – like Father (God), Son (Jesus) and Holy Spirit (Comforter) – different forms of God.

I told her what I had learned but since then have been thinking about what other people have learned and believed. If you do an internet search there is an estimate that of over 4000 religions in the world – each with their own ideas and doctrine.

But there are also those who do not subscribe to faith-based ideas.

To be honest, I have always found it kind of hard to believe that everything in the world started with a big bang because I have wondered who lit the fuse that caused the bang in the first place. Everything seems so precise and beautiful around us. Just look at a flower and determine how the petals resulted from an explosion.

Well, in the past, science and religion were at odds with each other. Scientists mocked faith stating that there wasn’t any evidence to prove it and that all one had to do was bribe a priest to get away with bad behaviour. Those in the faith arena accused scientists of not being able to explain the beginning of the world. And so, the debates ensued.

We are all made up of atoms and energy. At one time scientists could break the atom down into protons, neutrons and electrons but now they have figured out how to go deeper and deeper and deeper into the dissection until they get to the point that there is absolutely nothing. So, the question arises again “What is the original energy that sparked the first atom?”

I don’t know the answers and, because of all the opinions in the world, I’m not sure that anyone does.

Those in AA state that their higher power can be anyone – a dog, a friend, self! Many people claim to be atheists, but some soldiers claim that when you are in foxhole being shot at, you drop that idea and just pray. The same thing can happen on one’s deathbed.

I remember when Paris Hilton went to jail for drunk driving. A judge was interviewed about this on a television show. He was told that Paris had been reading her Bible and wondered if the judge thought she was a Christian. The judge wisely answered, “Everyone is a Christian their first week in jail”.

For years, I have worked with military Veterans. One day, a loyal client said “Linda, you don’t have to worry. We will protect you”. I asked, “From what?” and he said, “When the aliens come”. I then asked, “Don’t you think that God will protect me?” and he said, “When are you going to understand that there is no God”. After thinking for a minute, I had one more question “Well if you can have an imagery friend, can’t I?”

I never want to tell you exactly what to believe but I do know for a fact that it is important to believe in something outside of ourselves.

It’s not always what your parents or grandparents believed. It is what you have researched and adopted that makes sense – like having the Holy Spirit so that you are comforted.

Whether you lean towards science or religion or both, I hope that you do not feel alone and are able to enjoy good health just knowing that there is something bigger than your problems!

Do you believe that?

Dr. Linda Hancock, the author of “Life is An Adventure…every step of the way” and “Open for Business Success” is a Registered Psychologist who has a private practice in Calgary. She can be reached at 403-957-2444 or through email office@drlindahancock.com