Let in the Light

Let in the Light

January can be a tricky month in terms of mental health. The sparkle and magic of Christmas is over and lots of people find themselves suffering from SAD (seasonal affective disorder). This is thought to be caused in part by a lack of sunlight and causes symptoms similar to depression. It’s not any wonder really, as when the sun shines life feels better, problems smaller and it’s easier to see the upside.

One way to try and improve your mood is to get more sunshine in your life. Open your curtains and blinds, cut back overhanging trees or hedges, if the sun is shining go outside – have a walk, take your cup of tea outside and drink it in the garden, if you can’t get outside, move your chair so you sit near a window. Basically channel your inner sunflower and lift your face to the sun!

Sunlight is literally a light-giver; it’s what makes the plants grow and from that all life on earth is sustained. It’s no surprise then that God describes his son as the ‘light of the world’ as he too brings life to the whole world. Jesus too can make life feel better, put our problems in context and help us see the hope that he brings.

In the Bible, the world is also described as ‘dark’ in political, national and international terms. It’s getting harder to discern who is telling the truth and along with global warming, it can feel difficult to see how our planet’s going to get out of this mess.

So perhaps this January, while we’re soaking up the weak winter rays, we could explore the more consistent light source of Jesus who has promised to bring light into our dark world, both for us on a personal level but also for our world as a whole.

Useful passage to look up: John ch8 v12

Photo by Ban Yido on Unsplash