Longer Days- The Cycle of Life

Bonus: Day #10 Twelve Days of Christmas - Until He Came

Two days ago was the shortest day of the year, in terms of the amount of daylight. For the next six months, the days get longer and the nights get shorter. It will be a slow process to move from sunset at 5:15 to sunset at 9:15, but I am ready to go.

There is such a thing as Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD. SAD is a form of depression that occurs primarily in the winter when the daylight hours are decreased from summer and fall levels. The full cause is not known, but the shorter days and longer nights definitely play a role in SAD.

The severity can vary widely, but seasonal depression can be terribly debilitating in its worse form. Experts recommend exercise, a good diet and as much natural sunlight as you can work into your day.

I do not understand half of what I have read about SAD and I can not identify with most of the symptoms, but I do dread the shorter days as they come along and I always rejoice as the daylight hours begin to grow.

In fact, most of my happiest summertime memories involve being outside in a mid-summer evening at 9:00 or 10:00 in the daylight. The sun was still shining so I thought it was two or three hours earlier.

KJo and I were in Montana in July 2010. We went to watch the 4th of July fireworks between 10:30 and 11:00 PM, but the beginning of the show was postponed in order to let it get a little darker. I loved that!

In 2015 we were near Denali National Park in Alaska during July 4th week with my parents, KJo's parents and Steve and Karen. At 2:00 AM in the morning, there was enough light to read the newspaper. I could get used to that, but 20 hours of darkness in the winter would be a no go for me.

Even though I dread the shorter days, I know the downward cycle will eventually be completed and the days will be longer soon. It is the cycle of life. 

As the days get longer, the sun will be shining, the ground will begin to get warm and the row crops will push their way toward the light. The trees will become green with leaves, the birds will sing and the flowers will bloom in living color.

By the end of June, the days will begin to shorten and by this time next year the ground will be frozen here in Ohio and every plant will be dead or dormant.

It is the cycle of life. Deadness, dryness, cold and dark. But the light will come again and life will renew and blossom.

Here is something I learned from a preacher many years ago. It is either night in your life or the night has just ended or the night is coming. It is a cycle of day and night, summer and winter, life and death and joy and sorrow. But do not forget the sun will shine again in EVERY life and in every situation!

Thank you for reading today, friends.

Davy