Joy in the Light

When I returned from an appointment yesterday, I was amazed to see that the sun had melted most of the snow and ice off my windows, even though the windchill was in the teens.

The sun is an amazing thing- providing light, heat, day, seasons... and I have a special relationship with that glowing orb in the sky.

About 8 years ago I was diagnosed with seasonal depression, or winter blues. It's a real thing. When that sun disappears for days or weeks behind heavy clouds, and the sky is a dull gray all the time, I get down. I have a physiological need for light to maintain my sanity. When the sun finally reappears after a long hiatus, I notice right away. I greet my old friend, and I'm filled with joy. Everything (literally and figuratively) seems brighter, more real somehow. A sense of hope is restored; winter is not forever.

Light can represent goodness, truth, righteousness, hope. 1 John 1:5&7 says that "God is light...If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin."

Sometimes living in the light... being "good", so to speak, isn't easy... or even much fun. But the rewards are a relationship with the God of the universe, and real relationships with other people. I think finding joy is to draw near to light, to beauty, to truth, to goodness... as a moth is drawn to a light. The weather forecast for today is "partly cloudy," but I'm going to look for partly sunny.