Winter is a time for being down. I think the lack of daylight, the cold,* and the overall sense of wanting to hibernate is an important experience in the cycle of life.
Maybe dark nights of the soul, winter depression, and wilderness experiences are necessary for growth. We need times of joyous celebration, of hope, of warmth and sun. But the wilderness experiences, when all is dark and God is distant form our souls, are where something deep within us is formed and tempered.
When we learn to fight for joy and hope, when we learn to find warmth and light from the small candles that still radiate in our life, when we learn to give thanks and sing praise in the moment of weakness, then a strength is formed is our souls. Faith becomes tempered. Hope becomes resilient. Love becomes strong.
No one likes the wilderness. Life is meant to be lived in joy and praise, celebrating the gift of life to the fullest. Yet the wilderness happens, and the dark nights of the soul seem necessary.
I think accepting that reality is key. It is okay to feel let down, discouraged, and tired. These times are when building faith and moving forward in hope takes courage and strength. Even if that faith is only a small flicker in a seeming vast expanse of emptiness and the only actions that can be taken seem glacier paced in the midst of the disabling reality of the cold wilderness, surviving the wilderness is what takes us into deeper seasons of joy and life.
Or so I hope. In reality, the wilderness is pretty much just cold, lonely, and scary.
*All my friends from places that experience true winter coldness like to remind me that it is not really cold here in Southern California during the winter. Whatever.
