I wrote a blog several months ago in which I mentioned I have never been a fan of the dark.  It always seems like things feel worse in the darkness whether it is fear, sadness, or loneliness. We recently experienced our yearly encounter with the winter solstice which took place about three weeks ago on December 21. The winter solstice as most of us know, is an astronomical phenomenon marking the day with the shortest period of daylight and the longest night of the year when the sun’s daily maximum elevation in the sky is at its lowest.

Since I have been aware of what the winter solstice is, I have looked upon it with a mixed sense of dread and hope.  I obviously dreaded it because it was the darkest day of the year, but with that dread came hope because it meant the very next day, the daylight would increase by two minutes and eight seconds a day until we would return to the days with more light than darkness. 

This past year has proven to be challenging on many levels…a prolonged winter solstice of a sort, but we are now into 2021 and 16 days on the other side of that “dreaded day”. We have already gained about half an hour of extra light. This lengthening daylight offers us an opportunity of renewal of our souls and serves as a reminder that darkness can’t hold us forever. We can look forward with hope and optimism.

One of the former Beatles, George Harrison introduced the song “Here Comes the Sun” which offered us a comforting message in the dead of winter with a ray of hope assuring us multiple times in its lyrics “It’s alright”. I am thankful for the holiness of the Spirit that arises and guides us through the darkness. I am thankful even for the darkness, which allows us to know the blessedness of light. Most of all, I am thankful for God’s unconditional love that gave us and leads us to his Son who shines brighter than any star in the darkness. The time is fast approaching when we will once again turn towards the light! Here comes the sun and more importantly, here comes the SON!

Patty