Today is the Winter Solstice!

It is the shortest and darkest day of the year.

For some, this day, or even this whole cold, dark season, can be particularly difficult. Seasonal Affect Disorder, SAD, or seasonal depression is real and it can be ugly. I know this full well.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, “Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that comes and goes with the seasons, typically starting in the late fall and early winter and going away during the spring and summer. Depressive episodes linked to the summer can occur, but are much less common than winter episodes of SAD.” It’s not considered a separate disorder from depression, but rather is a type of depression that displays with a recurring, seasonal pattern.

This is the height of this difficult winter season, during which so many of us struggle. This is the darkest day, the peak of the winter season. I was told, when I showed signs of SAD as a young adult, to try tanning at a tanning salon to treat my condition. It helped tremendously. Light is a common prescription for winter SAD.

Even now, years later, I find myself wanting my focus to be on the Light – I want to see Jesus here, even on the darkest day of the year.

May we never forget: He is the same God in the dark as He is in the light.

Amen, amen, amen.

He is still God. He is still savior. He still knows my heart. He still cares. He still loves me.

He never leaves us or forsakes us. He has not abandoned us to the dark, but has waded into it with us, with complete control and command over it all, to safely carry us through.

Even if He is not the light to you, I hope and pray today is still a turning point for you. We all have a choice: to give in to the bleakness and hopelessness this season can thrust upon us, or we can see today as a symbol, a beacon of hope to those of us that are waiting for the light! It’s might be the shortest and darkest day of the year, but tomorrow, it’s only going to get brighter and brighter. ✨