In the dark winter months when daylight hours are scarce and the sky is so grey that we wonder whether someone is playing with the dimmer switch, many people suffer from what is known as Seasonal Affective disorder, or SAD. This can make the winter a time of dread. We are tempted to shut the doors, pull up the drawbridge, and hibernate until spring.
During my childhood, my excitement grew as the days shortened because Christmas was coming, and I struggled to understand why others failed to share my joy. I appreciate their reasons more now.
I recall a number of occasions on which I asked my grandmother whether she was looking forward to Christmas. Her reply was always the same. “I’m looking forward to the twenty-first of December because it’s the shortest day. After that, the days will get longer, and we’ll have lighter nights and warmer weather.”
In November 2007, my grandmother was hospitalised with an illness from which she never recovered. I sat at her bedside for the final time on a Thursday afternoon less than a week before Christmas, listening to her ragged breathing and knowing the end was near. Despite my grief, I revelled in those last moments with the woman who had always been my greatest cheerleader and best friend. Nanna Dil was leaving us, but my husband and I had led her in the prayer of salvation just months before, and I was comforted by the certainty that she was going to be with Jesus.
Nan’s heart stopped beating in the early hours of the following morning, and she left for her eternal home, a place where there is no darkness, constant joy, and perfect peace. And the date? It was the twenty-first of December. Jesus had waited for the shortest day, the day she looked forward to in the same way I waited for Christmas. Nanna Dil will never dread the dark nights again. She is alive, surrounded by light, and safe with Jesus. I can’t wait to run into her arms and ask for a guided tour of our heavenly home.
Prayer
Lord, I pray for those who are struggling because of the dreary weather and the dark nights. May they be comforted by the light of your presence, and may they remember that spring and summer will soon come again.
Song: Let there be light by Point of Grace
Scriptures to Ponder
Deuteronomy 31: 8: “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
John 14: 27:”I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”