Is it gremlins or the devil in my works?

Do you believe in gremlins? Wikipedia gives a handy definition for a gremlin which might even be a little too “impish.” It describes an imp as “an imaginary creature commonly depicted as mischievous and mechanically oriented” and associated particularly with aircraft.

It is also linked with mischievous imps in old English folklore. My understanding of an imp is not necessarily evil, but maybe that is an understatement.

Are gremlins really imaginary and not an excuse for not wanting to identify a more sinister source for whatever goes wrong in one’s life when you are trying to do something right?

Why does your credit card get misused, your car window get stuck, radiator hoses split, dogs go frantic with fear in a thunderstorm and rip up curtains trying to force their way in through an open window? Just when you think you are doing something important and worthwhile for God and really have no time to waste you spend hours at the bank, waiting for the car to be repaired and getting yourself worked up over quite small matters?

The question to ask is this: “Is the devil real? Is he really out to just put spokes in the wheels of your life without necessarily causing a major disaster?”

Another term associated with a gremlin apparently is “vexed”, which could refer to both the confused and unanswerable and to feeling angry and resentful.

I had such a week around the time when I was trying to put together a parish family ministry workshop and market the current Marfam booklet while entertaining a visitor on a part study, part sightseeing visit. There were certainly enjoyable and memorable moments: wonderful animal sightings in the Pilanesberg, interesting meetings with people, but they tended to become overshadowed by the negatives. Murphy’s law of “If something can go wrong, it will” applied itself with a vengeance.

The power of evil. Name it and shame it? Call on God to overcome it and strive to strengthen one’s faith? These for me, and I’m sure for many others, are vexed questions. We avoid talking about Satanism for fear of naming Satan. And is a gremlin in reality possibly a serious power of evil?

Can all that be a serious Lenten reflection to add to the list I made already? The 1st Sunday of Lent begins with an account of Jesus’ temptation by the devil. In my work I try continually to link faith with life and in scripture reflections use a real-life situation to bear on the scripture passage. For me this vexed question of why these gremlins have come to disturb my peace is very real right now.

The temptation in part is: “Where am I going with this ministry to families that are not nearly as well supported as I would like?” Is it a hobby-horse? An ego trip? Is it because that ministry is something important and meaningful that “gremlins” or the devil are attacking me and it?

I don’t yet know the answer. It will be part of my Lenten reflection beginning with Jesus’ temptation

The saddest part for me in all this gremlin-fighting was the fact that I genuinely forgot some family birthdays. I felt sad, but also guilty, having produced a family year planner and encouraged everyone far and wide to use it as a reminder. Why then did it not work for me? How did I feel when my son sent me an SMS gently asking: “Hi mom, did you forget a birthday?” Just a gremlin or a more serious evil? My omission hurt ? not only me, but my granddaughter too.

As a consolation Wikipedia also showed an image of a good luck gremlin mascot that was carried in a Second World War fighter plane. I haven’t got one of those and don’t even wear a rosary round my neck, but I do shoot up a short prayer to my two St Christophers when I set out on a journey. With the help of the local garage ? so far so good.