If you ever have moments where you feel darkness, darkness that comes from your thoughts, your feelings, your relationships, your trials, or even darkness that may come from those around you, you will likely resonate with the glorious idea of the opportunity to have more light in your life.

God is Fast

Several months ago, I was sitting in a motivational conference and the speaker had just taught about forgiveness and even though the conference was not spiritual or religiously affiliated, the speaker offhandedly remarked, saying, “God forgives you the instant that you ask for it! You are the one that is slow to forgive your self. You are the one that is slow to receive forgiveness.”

It was a five second remark and the only moment like it in three full days of learning and it’s one of the most glorious takeaways that I came home with.

The thought wouldn’t leave me. I pondered on it continuously. I had not ever considered before how FAST GOD is to forgive. How FAST he is to respond, and heal and give. It is this attribute that I am calling, “The Speed of Light”.

The spiritual parallel of relating physical light that we see with our physical eyes, to spiritual light that we feel in our hearts is easy to make. Light is something we feel just as much as it is something that we see. Jesus often taught that He was the Light of the World. And that we can be lights as well.

As I began to study scripture, there was evidence all over the place, that not only does he forgive, but he’s QUICK at it. Not only does he give Grace, he’s QUICK at it. If you study the miracles He performed in his ministry, you will regularly see the word, “Immediately” in those stories. He healed the blind and immediately they received sight, he healed the lame and immediately they walked. One of my favorite scriptures I came across is found in the book of Mormon, in the book of Alma, and it says, “if ye will repent and harden not your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you.” There’s that word again! Immediate!! It is the speed of light!!

He operates at the speed of light! He is so beautifully quick to respond and to give.

I can be fast too

How quick am I to receive? How quick are YOU to receive light in your life?

The presenter at that conference was spot on! He was right! God forgives the instant that we ask! We however, can be much slower to receive.

My pattern in the past has been to embark on my own period of suffering. I mentioned in that podcast interview how I have traditionally wallowed in my guilt, and how I have wrongly thought that if I inflicted a designated period of personal suffering that would somehow make me more worthy of forgiveness because I could say that I truly felt bad.

I am learning that this is totally wrong thinking! The goal shouldn’t be to extend my suffering, it should be to quickly get rid of the darkness that I feel! The only way to get rid of darkness is to receive light.

I have the choice of how fast I will give and receive light in my life.

This principle of The Speed of Light, can be integrated in so many ways into our life. We can be quick to give light, and to receive it.

We can be fast to forgive in our families

I remember reading an article a few years ago that sited a study done on the effectiveness of parenting, and the #1 … the #1parenting trait that influenced children the most, was parents who would admit when they had made mistakes. This concept was so fascinating to me that I began to implement it immediately (ha! there’s that word again!) I began to immediately implement it into my parenting. Whenever I make a wrong move in parenting (which most often comes from me yelling or being impatient…I always always say that I’m sorry, point out that it was a mistake I had made, and ask for their forgiveness. Now, really, I also need to work on getting to a place of not yelling at all, but until I’m there, I can absolutely admit my wrongs, and be quick to seek forgiveness. It has made a remarkable difference in our family.

I remember not too long after I began doing this, that I had an altercation with my son, who was 6 years old at the time. He got upset about losing a privilege, and reacted by throwing a fit, and screaming and slamming doors. I was upset by his reaction and retreated to my bedroom to cool down. To my great surprise, a few moments later he came into my room, climbed into my lap and said, “Mom, I’m sorry for yelling. I made bad choice. Will you please forgive me!” It was such a wonderful sweet moment. And even though I have much progress to make as a parent, I knew in that moment that he was modeling behavior that he had been taught to confess our mistakes and seek forgiveness.

We all make mistakes, we all make bad choices, we all have things that we’re working on. I invite you to consider how choosing to be faster at giving and receiving grace and light in your life can bless your life and make it easier!

I have mentioned both the art of giving and receiving. The speed of light works both directions.

I am happy to report that I’m not as slow as I used to be. I’m getting faster. I’m working up to being “immediate”. Like any attribute or skill, this takes practice and it must be developed. One of the best places to start, is increasing the speed you receive light and grace for yourself. For the more light and grace you have inside of you, the more you can give to others. It all starts with your ability to receive it for yourself. You can not give that which you do not possess yourself.

Can you improve your speed of light?

How can you be faster today to receive grace and light for yourself?
If you find yourself unfairly comparing yourself to others, I invite you to quickly receive grace.
If you find yourself saying unkind things about yourself silently or aloud, i invite you to quickly receive grace.
If you have made a mistake and are holding to the guilt and suffering that brings, I invite you to quickly receive grace for you.

You don’t have to remain in darkness. You don’t have to suffer. You don’t have to carry your burden alone.

If “receiving grace” is a term that feels unfamiliar or even abstract, I have a really great exercise you can do that will immediately help you experience what it feels like to receive grace in a more concrete way. In my podcast Ep. #60 I share my favorite mantra and teach a super easy meditation you can do that is phenomenal for opening up to receive light and grace for yourself. I do it every day and every person that I mentor is invited to make this a part of their daily practice as well. I recite this mantra multiple times throughout the day when I find myself comparing, judging, criticizing, worrying, or feeling any feeling that is a negative low emotion. It’s a fast way to trigger the Speed of Light 😃