Those Lovely Winter Blahs
Often when I write these editorials I am writing to myself.
It is especially true this month. In the midst of February — a colder one than usual — I feel the seasonal blues in full force.
Our homeschool lessons seem tedious, the children appear to have more than the usual squabbles, I am still feeling the postholiday let-down. The busyness of family get-togethers and holiday celebrations is long past (although some clutter still remains) and the days seem all the same. A poem one of my sons memorized for a recitation is fitting to the season.
“The Rainy Day,” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:
For me these doldrums are a general feeling of “nothing to look forward to.” It is often a combination of circumstances. My husband is really good at helping me look at my life in a rational logical way instead of “being all emo” as my daughter calls over-emotional. David will guide me in identifying what all is bothering me. Instead of being a formless dark cloud hovering around me like that of Pigpen in a Charlie Brown comic strip, the things that are troubling me are given a name, identified and, often, seen for what they really are. Possible solutions present themselves and a bit of sun peeps through the clouds.
Often what is needed is just little steps in just one problem area. I have a place in my dining room where I put things that need to go up in the attic. When the pile starts falling over and taking over the room, it becomes an irritation and a bigger symbol to me of the disorder in other areas of my life. I find that if I take care of just that pile and put those things where they belong in the attic, I feel much better.
Sometimes it helps just to gain perspective on one’s situation. Right now I am reading aloud a biography of Charles Goodyear, the man famous for his discovering many uses of rubber.
During the years he was developing the vulcanizing process, his wife and many young children often went hungry and were cold. He spent time in prison when he could not pay his bills. Through it all his wife, Clarissa, was supportive, encouraging, non-complaining, always trusting in God.
Only one time did she confront her husband with her emotions and doubts. The next morning she apologized and reiterated her belief that whatever her husband did, she would stand by him. “Whatever it is Charles, always remember I shall share with you gladly whatever the Lord desires to be our lot.” Now that was a woman who trusted in God’s sovereignty in the darkest of times.
Of course the main remedy for those dreary days is prayer and meditation in God’s Word. That feeling of having nothing to look forward to is a lie from the enemy.
God’s people have everything to look forward to. God is building His kingdom here on earth and we are part of that glorious structure. God has promised to make us more and more like Jesus, to give us grace for every situation. This month I have been meditating on Psalm 15, a description of the man who may abide in the Lord’s tabernacle. Such a man speaks the truth in his heart (v. 2). That is a sure balm for days with gray skies — to speak God’s truths into one’s heart. To not allow the emotions of the moment to rule the day but instead to infuse God’s truth into the deepest places of one’s soul.
Let us learn to dwell with God and banish those blahs.
— JMT
