If you ever long for more sunshine in your life, follow a cat around. These feline finders never miss the chance to bask in a burst of sunlight, and all of us will need to do that more as the days grow shorter and the sun sets earlier this winter.
This has been a year of valleys and peaks for our family. If you’re a regular reader and you’re just now realizing you haven’t heard from me for a while, it’s because the valleys seem to have drained my creativity so my writing and my cooking, which l came to understand is also a creative endeavor, have suffered. And yet we’ve also had a joyful wedding, a new baby born, and an engagement this year! In all of it, we know God is good, now and forever, and that we are richly blessed.
But like a plant turning toward the sun to soak up as much as it can so it can grow and bloom as designed, we can’t grow if we just sit in the dark. That’s no way to thrive. Those of us who are blessed with sound mental health (well, most of the time) realize that grief is not a destination. It’s not a place to stay, but a place to travel through in time, incorporating the loss into who you will now be but not letting it define you completely. And as we travel, we look for the sun, the positive, the eternal hope that lifts our heads.
It takes discipline to turn away from the dark into the light. And it takes a full reliance on the power of the Holy Spirit. The Bible passage I often turn to when I need to shift my perspective is Phil. 4:8—Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
The fact that you’re reading this means healing is happening. I’m especially grateful for Thanksgiving this year as the timing of the celebration is nothing less than perfect. As Chuck Swindoll wrote: Thanksgiving is a time of quiet reflection upon the past and an annual reminder that God has, again, been ever so faithful. The solid and simple things of life are brought into clear focus, so much so that everything else fades into insignificance.
So if you are feeling down this holiday season, seek the sun and seek the Son, Jesus Christ. Bask in all the blessings for which you are grateful. Have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving!