Those long winter months

What a crazy winter it has been weather wise. One day it is 10 degrees and snowing the next day it is 50 degrees and raining. We have experienced ice, sleet, slush, and freezing rain all in a few months. For me I tend to get a little cabin fever and the walls feel like they are coming in on me. Our family really thrives outdoors and there are times where we get to feeling a little stir crazy this time of year. It is really difficult on the kids because there is so much for them to do outside and it also doesn't really ever give Erin and I a break because we can't say, "hey go outside and play". If we didn't have a basement for them to go play in I am not sure we could keep our sanity.

I have heard studies that the gloominess of winter is a real phenomenon in our lives. With all of these dark gray days, with the lousy weather, and low temperatures it can wear on a persons soul. Depression is a bigger issue in the winter months just because of the climate. I have to confess there are times where I just feel dreary and blah because I haven't seen the sun in a few weeks. I also think it is this time of year in late February where it feels like the lousy weather is never going to end. Very soon however it will start warming up, the farmers will hit the fields, and everything will be in bloom. I don't know about you but I am looking forward to those days.

It reminds me how much we relay on our feelings. That our feelings tend to dictate our attitudes, our actions, and even our inactions. It is so hard for us to make sure we continue to do those things in life that are important and a priority even when we don't feel like it. What I am learning is sometimes I have to act my way into a feeling. In other words if I wait to do something that I feel like doing it may never get done. However if I take right action even if I don't' feel like it eventually the awkwardness wears off and the feelings come. These days it's so easy to allow the blah or dreariness of the day affect our life actions. We may not always feel like it and then again there are times where we just need to act it and the feelings come. So for now I am going to watch some TV while the kids play in the basement and Erin rests (until I feel like doing something else...hah, hah). I pray that you are making it through these trying months and that God continues to shed light on your soul even on these gray days. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor