God is a living God. As uplifting as scripture can be it seems a shame to think God only spoke to His children in the past. I am confident God is alive and well. He still loves us and communicates with us in this day and age. One of the many ways the Divine can communicate to us is with spiritual light. The following is a beautiful story about seeing the Light of God for the first time. What a blessing!

In 1995 I was living in California, but was working here in Virginia for a one-year temporary job-assignment. I was in a searching and seeking phase of my life – though not sure what I was looking for. It was an unsettled time, lots of change in several areas of my life. I had no real direction or rooting in anything or anywhere it seemed. I saw a small advertisement in a local magazine for the Nature Awareness School. I was immediately interested and called and spoke to Del on the phone. I can remember our conversation like it was yesterday. We talked about various things and the types of classes he was teaching, but it was something in his voice that spoke to me on a deeper level. I knew I wanted to go no matter what the next class was. Back then the school offered a mix of wilderness skills and spiritual retreats and it turned out the next class was a tracking class. Driving up to the school alone and taking this class was a whole new experience for me, as I had never done anything like this before but I was excited to go. I was open to learn and to whatever adventure was in store. I enjoyed the class and found I had a natural ability to see the tracks in the dirt during our practice sessions.

While there I was more relaxed and at peace than I could ever recall. At the time I was afraid of the dark and being in the woods at night, but not as much here. I felt safe and protected and knew I was in good hands. I slept like a baby. One night after class was over and everyone had gone to bed I stood on the grassy hill overlooking the pond. I was soaking in the beauty of the clear sky and the brilliant stars, appreciating the calmness and grateful for the courage I had to stand there “alone” in the dark and still be at peace.

I became aware of a bright white light over my right shoulder just out of my peripheral vision. It surprised me but it was a gentle presence that did not scare me. I turned quickly to see it but when I looked it was gone. I eventually settled down and went back to looking out over the pond, enjoying the peacefulness, and saw the white light once again. This time I turned slowly hoping to see more of the light and what it was; but as I turned around enough to look directly, it was gone again. This happened again, but this time I did not turn at all and used wide-angle vision we were taught in class to observe and be aware of the light without looking directly at it. It was comforting, gentle, and non-intrusive yet it seemed to hold so much more. I was not sure what it was, but I liked it and I knew I was not alone.

The next day I mentioned my experience to Del and he helped me understand that what I was seeing was the Light of God. Divine Spirit can come in many forms and one is light. Later I would learn that this presence is always with me whether I see it or not. Out of great love for me though, it chose to introduce Itself in a way that would not scare me. It was, as I learned in later spiritual retreats, offering to have an inner personal relationship and help guide me spiritually. In time, by nurturing this relationship, by singing HU, and being grateful for its blessings, this relationship has grown in trust and a true love connection has developed.

Almost twenty years later, as I sit writing this story in the same spot on the grassy hillside looking out at the pond, I am filled with appreciation, love, and awe at how every aspect of my life has been transformed because of this very real, very present, and very personal relationship with Divine Spirit. In the past twenty years I’ve gone through zigs and zags, and ups and downs in life, had relationship changes, career and finance changes, and relocations of homes, but the one constant has been this ever-growing love connection. It is the solid foundation upon which my life rests and is a source of peace, stability, comfort, joy, and happiness even on some of the more difficult days. I am truly never alone. What a magnificent discovery and journey this has been and continues to be.

Written by Lorraine Fortier