How did they know that there is God?

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all.
 

Each little flower that opens,

Each little bird that sings,

He made their glowing colors,

He made their tiny wings.
 

He gave us eyes to see them,

And lips that we might tell,

How great is God Almighty,

Who has made all things well.

— Excerpts from All Things Bright and    Beautiful, a hymn first published in 1848 in Mrs. Cecil Alexander’s Hymn for Little Children

You don’t have to be shown proof to believe that there is God, do you? As the hymn quoted above shows, the creation proves beyond doubt the existence of a creator. For instance, do you have to see the builder of a centuries-old building to be convinced that he ever existed?

Wrote Joyce Kilmer, poems are made by fools like me but only God can make a tree.

In the spirit of the season, Conversations asked some celebrities the question: How did you know that there is God? Here are their answers:

• Kris Aquino: I grew up with a very religious, prayerful Mom, and I’ve always prayed the Rosary, gone to Mass, visited Adoration Chapels and, since my bed rest while having a delicate pregnancy with Bimb, have regularly read Scripture, Devotionals and a lot of faith-enriching books. But it was our pilgrimage to Israel in 2013 when the story of Jesus came alive for me because we saw where He was born, where He preached and performed miracles, where He was persecuted and where He was crucified. It was life changing because it made my faith even more personal and strengthened my conviction in total surrender to God’s will.
• Gemma Cruz: My Lola (Filomena Francisco Guerrero, the first Filipina pharmacist) taught me how to pray, so I learned about God from her.
• Katrina Legarda: When prayers brought answers.
• Chad Borja: I know that there is God by feeling His presence. I feel Him through the magnificence of nature like beautiful trees, and the different colors of flowers and birds. He made the universe in perfect order for us to use. I can feel Him through my family and friends and from the countless blessings given to me. Most of all, He heard my prayers for a second chance in life.
• Mother Lily: The way I feel and think, God is everywhere. I feel Him in my heart and in my mind. I look for Him. He is not visible but I touch Him from my body and soul. And He inspires me to be a good person.
• Jeannie Goulbourn: I am very sure that God exists and the proof came in a most miraculous way He answered a very urgent and demanding request I made.

About a month and a half after we lost Natasha, I asked God to please show me dolphins (Tasha’s favorite) in Puerto Galera. If He showed me three, that meant Tasha would be in hell and if five in purgatory. I begged Him that I must take Tasha’s place instead. And if 10, that meant Tasha would be in heaven.

As we headed back with the family and Aida, the owner of Buri, in her big banca, the captain of the boat excitedly told me that he saw three at 11 o’clock that morning. He turned to where he saw the dolphins and stopped the engine. And there were about 128 dolphins that surfaced and frolicked and then formed five lines!!! They gave a performance for eight minutes. It was so awesome, so beautiful!

There were 14 of us. The captain was in tears. He said that in his 40 years, nothing like that had ever happened. A school of flying fish was on the left side of the boat, forming a cross. A full rainbow appeared in the sky as 10 pairs of dolphins led us at 1 o’clock back to the Batangas pier. The rest of the dolphins went under the calm waters and didn’t show up again.

The presence of a compassionate loving God was indeed felt by all of us. It soothed our broken hearts and right then I said, “Okay, okay. You are there. Let me serve You in all ways. Find me a direction where I can help others. Four years after, I gathered the strength to organize the Natasha Goulbourn Foundation and, two and a half years ago, Hopeline (emotional crisis line in partnership with Globe and Taospuso Foundation), a most challenging work in progress. With wonderful doctors and friends, we launched the NGF Brings Depression to Light awareness campaign and hopefully the society will remove the stigma and deal with it as an illness that is curable. God continues to let us feel His presence in so many ways. I merely obey and follow His lead.

• Dr. Vicki Belo: Nature is so beautiful and in synchronicity that I always knew only God could create such beauty. Now, it’s even better because as I spend more time praying and worshipping and reading the Bible, I’ve developed a personal relationship with Him. He is always with me just like the wind which you cannot see but you can feel.
• Derek Ramsay: Every time I pray, I feel Him.
• Gloria Diaz: I am not really prayerful but when I pray, He answers me and things fall in place no matter how impossible. “Do your best and God will do the rest.” Very true!
• Mark Bautista: I know that there is God because I exist in this world. He created everything.
• Sen. Chiz Escudero: I know that there is God because I am and have been “blessed” not because of who I am or what I have done, and in spite of the fact that I am undeserving…
• Kim Atienza: As I was growing up in a conservative Catholic family, God was always there for me to pray to. I never had any doubt of His existence and I even went to a seminary in high school so I could be a priest!

When I had a stroke in 2010, my life-long friendship with Jesus became even deeper. He was always there for me to assuage my health and mortality fears. I prayed to Him every minute not to take me yet because I wasn’t ready and was going to hell for lack of good deeds. Jesus was my best friend but not my Lord and Savior.

In 2013, after my bout with the rare Gullain Barre Syndrome, I finally gave up all control of my life, totally surrendered to my friend Jesus and accepted Him as Lord and Savior. It was then that everything in my life turned fabulous! How can there be no God? All these beautiful things happening in my life cannot be attributed to luck or chance. The design is too fantastic, too detailed and too tailor-made for my good!

I thank the Lord for all that I have. God doesn’t have to be seen for us to believe in His existence. God is like love. We love our wife and kids so much that we are willing to die for them. Can this parental love be seen with the eyes? We can’t, but we know that love is there. Same with God. We can’t see Him but, like love, His presence is undeniable.

• Julius Babao: Look around you. The people, the sky, the flowers, the mountains, the animals, the sea, the sun, the moon…There is so much beauty in this world that can only be created by a Supreme Being, a Brilliant Artist, and that is God.
•  Mike Enriquez: Every time I see and meet people in need, I know that there is God. A God who is kind and who is caring. We meet God all the time. He is there…in the poor and the lonely.
• Neil Perez: May Diyos kaya may tao, kaya may tao dahil may Diyos. Para sa akin, bilang isang Katoliko, naniniwala ako na mayroong Diyos dahil Siya ang lumikha sa atin at alam ko na kung walang tao, wala ring Diyos.

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