Patterns of Light

This past weekend at church, we had a lesson about how to receive answers, guidance and direction from God. In other words, how to recognize and interpret revelation for ourselves. We talked about how the Lord has given us the opportunity to feel His Spirit from day to day and act on those feelings. We watched these 3 videos, which explain more about the Spirit of God and how to find answers:

1: https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2012-01-010-patterns-of-light-the-light-of-christ?lang=eng
2: https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2012-01-011-patterns-of-light-discerning-light?lang=eng
3: https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2012-01-012-patterns-of-light-spirit-of-revelation?lang=eng

I especially realized how much God really is in our lives and that He is always there to guide us. But, He is not forceful and He trusts us to act and to make decisions for ourselves. Sometimes we receive "yes", "no", or "not yet" answers to our prayers. Other times, it may feel as though Heavenly Father is being silent. We don't seem to receive any sort of direction or specific instruction. It is in these times that we know that He is trusting us to act and to move forward. He will not let us go too far in the wrong direction without guiding us to what we need to do. More often than not, God allows us to make our own decisions and then come to Him for confirmation of the choice we have made. He has sent us here to learn, grow, and make decisions. He wants to help us, and we can receive that help as we have a real desire and determination to act. I loved how Elder Bednar described in these videos the three different patterns of light that personal revelation often resemble. As he described, I often feel like mine is more the "foggy day effect". There is just enough light out that you can see your next few steps, but it is clouded enough that you aren't quite sure where you are headed. This is where trust and faith come in. I know that as we focus more on being grateful for the few "steps" that God has shown us, instead of wishing and waiting for Him to give us the whole picture all at once, we will be more satisfied and hopeful about life.