Light Speed Ahead!

I figure if the speed limit of the universe is the speed of light, then light speed is the fastest we can move forward!

Life itself seems to move at the speed of light at times, especially when we have our days scheduled down to the minute. There’s no time for interruptions or detours, because the next task or event is right at our backs.

Traveling through life at breakneck speed works well. For a little while.

This is an installment of the Light segment of my Creation series. In this segment, my writing relates to Genesis 1:2-5:

Light Speed

Just how fast is the speed of light? Perhaps you remember from your years in school, but it’s not something I tend to think about often!

Here’s a refresher: light in a vacuum travels at about 186,282 miles (almost 300,000 kilometers) per second. What does that even mean? It’s hard to wrap our heads around just how far or how fast that is. Let’s use this rock we live on as an example.

The distance around the surface of the earth is about 25,000 miles (40,233,600 meters). Imagine traveling around the earth almost 7 and a half times. In one second.

Did you notice the “in a vacuum” qualifier for the speed of light? What happens when light isn’t traveling in a vacuum? Well, here are a few speeds to compare:

• Light through water: 139,809 miles (225,000 km) per second (only 5 1/2 trips around the earth)
• Through glass: 124,274 miles (200,000 km) per second (just 5 trips)
• Through a diamond: 77,671 miles (125,000 km) per second, or basically crawling (a mere 3 trips around the earth)

Light speed is affected by the material it’s passing through.

Life Speed

Back to the days of our lives. We have seasons when we feel no resistance to our well-planned moments. Everything moves smoothly along from sunup to sundown, and we breathe a sigh of contentment that all is well.

We pat ourselves on the back for getting so many things checked off our to-do lists, and may even boast about how busy we are.

And then we hit the water. Circumstances pop up that weren’t on our radar and certainly weren’t in our plans, and our speed is considerably affected.

Responding to Resistance

I’m not talking about discord and opposition from people, but about resistance and friction from the circumstances of life that put the brakes on our hurtling streak.

It’s easy to look at what we didn’t get to do and feel the frustration and resentment mount.

• We got sick and couldn’t attend an event.
• We helped someone in need and couldn’t complete our housecleaning chore list.
• We had to drive out of the way of our regular route, and couldn’t pick up our favorite coffee.
• We had a big project deadline to meet, and couldn’t get to other tasks on our list.

But what if we changed our focus and instead looked at what did happen, or what we can be grateful for?

• That sickness forced us to rest, even if perhaps in discomfort
• We had the resources to help someone else, getting our eyes off ourselves
• We own transportation
• We possess skills to contribute to a big project

Light of Life

We have an example to follow in the life of Jesus.

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

John 8:12 NLT

Jesus had crowds following him everywhere wanting healing and freedom. He could have found his significance in fame, but he didn’t. He found his significance in his relationship with his Father.

. . . vast crowds came to hear him preach and to be healed of their diseases. But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.

Luke 5:15b-16

Are we willing to step back and pray about our plans for the day before we rush out the door?

Are we willing to let God direct our moments, trusting his plan when things don’t align with our own?

Are we willing to trust that God loves us no matter what we accomplish, and that our heart is more important to him than our task list?

Let’s choose to follow Jesus and his example of submitting his moments and his days to God.

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As a thank you for reading, I’m sharing an absolutely unrelated printable with you. I suppose it could be related in that without light, there would be nothing to make soup with!! This is a weekly checklist to help you celebrate National Soup Month. Let me know in the comments what soup you’ll be enjoying!

This week’s menu at our house includes Minestrone Soup and Black Bean Soup.