Unexplained

A spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body stood on end. It stopped but I could not tell what it was. A form stood before my eyes and I heard a hushed voice: ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker? If God places no trust in his servants, if he charges his angels with error, how much more those who live in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who are crushed more readily than a moth! Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces; unnoticed they perish forever. Are not the cords of their tent pulled up, so that they die without wisdom?’ Job 4:15-21

Five years ago, when our Eastridge Ladies Night Out group was in its infancy, we decided to go on the Lincoln Ghost Tour lead by Scott Colborn.  We received special permission from the ministers and we assured everyone it was not a church sanctioned event. Just a group of ladies going on a bus tour offered to the community. Part history lesson, part scary story, a mix of interesting facts and puzzling hearsay. We drove past spaces with unexplained sightings and heard Scott’s theory that if a spirit/soul doesn’t move on to the next phase/place that they would spend their time in places where they enjoyed life and definitely not a cemetery. This could be their home, or Memorial Stadium, or their favorite walking trail.   

I knew Scott Colborn for years before taking the tour. He was a longtime owner of “The Way Home”, a new age/metaphysical store in southwest Lincoln. Scott loved to talk about all the possibilities in the world. When we first met, he didn’t follow any specific spiritual or religious path but was fascinated by studying all of the world’s religions and he could discuss theology with scholars of any level. If you listened to KZUM you might hear his thoughts about UFOs, ghosts, government conspiracy and opportunities for world peace. Sadly, Scott passed away in March of 2020, very unexpectedly and not from COVID. Because of the large number of ties that remain in the community and the limitations of the pandemic, his family hasn’t had his service yet.  At the end of his life he was attending a Presbyterian church in Lincoln. 

In August, I took my mom to the Beach Boys concert at Pinewood Bowl. When we got home that night I told my husband, if I didn’t know Scott was dead I would have SWORN that I saw him at the show. As the end of summer drew near we talked more about those times when you feel like you saw someone that is no longer alive, or felt something. I wondered if there were moments that our minds showed us something, or identified a scent, or color, or experience to help us remember someone that we had needed as a coping mechanism. Times that we cannot explain, that we may think are supernatural or against all scientific explanation but that lead us to feel that the line between life and death is somehow less veiled. The presence of angels maybe. I can’t explain those moments, but I know that Scott would have loved to talk about them, and share his research, and help me consider the reason that I wanted to see him that day. 

Prayer: Mysterious creator, our human experiences are sometimes unfathomable and unable to be explained.  Help us to take these experiences and carry them with us, even in times that we cannot understand their meaning.  Amen.   

Christi Moock