This week as I waited for my take out order to be ready, I picked up a free magazine.

I was both amused and shocked at the two articles I read.

One was written by a teacher of a dying student. The teacher, eager to help, explained that she sent positive energy the child’s way, but it kept bouncing back. So she set up an arrangement of crystals on an altar at home and strategically moved them until she felt energy was directed toward the child.

The other article was written by a motorcyclist who explained how the use of a small bell attached to the bottom of his motorcycle captured road gremlins and rattled them incapable of causing traffic accidents.

When I explained what I read to my teenager, she told me about a new trend involving lighting candles around a dish of water. When a wish is blown across it, it’s supposed to come true. It reminded me of the lucky charms of my childhood, those things we hoped would bring health and safety to us.

Our hearts mean well. But our methods, as sacrificial as they are, are wasted. We don’t need rituals or man-made things to bring salvation. Being under the arm of the Almighty is all the power we need.