a new song to sing
In case you haven’t noticed, Autumn is in full swing. The air is cooler, the days are shorter, the darkness is deepening, and the leaves have crispified into a beautiful orange display. Autumn is, in my opinion, the most jaw-dropping of all the seasons, but the beauty only lasts so long before it’s replaced with dead brown things begging for snow to cover them up.
It’s also usually the harbinger of the winter doldrums or seasonal affective disorder (SAD for short, and very aptly termed).
SAD, or seasonal depression, is something that I didn’t think affected me because I love autumn and winter both. But, without fail, for the last few Septembers in a row, I’ve struggled with feelings of despair. The Mayo Clinic defines SAD this way:
“Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that's related to changes in seasons — seasonal affective disorder (SAD) begins and ends at about the same times every year. If you're like most people with SAD, your symptoms start in the fall and continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody.
Don't brush off that yearly feeling as simply a case of the "winter blues" or a seasonal funk that you have to tough out on your own. Take steps to keep your mood and motivation steady throughout the year.”[1]
I am hesitant to say that I am depressed, mostly because it feels so unreasonable and the feeling comes and goes. It doesn’t seem intense enough to truly be depression. Whenever someone asks how I’m feeling, I will say that I’m discouraged. I don’t know if this verbiage matters or not, but I want to remind you that if you experience feelings of unexplained moodiness around this time of the year, you’re not alone.
The other day, I rediscovered Psalm 40. It reads,
I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,
and he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the pit of despair,
out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground
and steadied me as I walked along.
He has given me a new song to sing,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what he has done and be amazed.
They will put their trust in the Lord.Psalm 40:1-3 (NLT, emphasis mine.)
Despair is a word that has appeared often in my journal over the past few months. It doesn’t escape me that in the “depths of my despair,” God brought me to a passage that reminded me, in the terminology I was accustomed to, that the pit of despair wasn’t a death sentence. I was not stuck there.
Well, I was stuck there. But that didn’t mean there was no way out. Because God sees me. He sees us. He sees our struggles, even the irrational ones that can’t be explained or reasoned with. He turns to us, hears our cries, and lifts us out of the pit of despair.
Does that mean things will always turn out well? Absolutely not. Does that mean that God will fix everything for us? Nope. Does that mean that despite our circumstances there is still hope? One hundred percent yes.
I recently read about how some Scandinavian countries get through the winter. Scandinavia undergoes frigid winter temperatures and dwindling daylight just as we do here in North America. It snows a lot, with blizzards and winter storms, and the climate is not very forgiving. However, one of the ways that these people get through the wintertime with hope is through a hyggelig winter activity. What does that mean, you ask? I’m so glad you did!
Hygge is, as defined by the Oxford dictionary, “a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being.” A hyggelig activity, therefore, is something you do that is enjoyable and lifegiving. It can be anything, really. It could be curling up and watching Christmas movies. It could be making different variations of hot chocolate every time it snows. It could be reading a special book series. It could be baking your way through a cookbook. The only two criteria are that you enjoy it and that you only do this activity during the winter months. It gives you something to look forward to, some hope when things look bleak. It’s no coincidence that SAD peaks during the last few months of winter—people no longer have Christmas to look forward to and winter feels like it will never end when you have nothing to hope for.
Participating in a hyggelig activity reminds your heart to hope. It reminds you that despite the bleakness and despair you may feel, you are not doomed to despair for the rest of your days. It gives you a new song to sing, a song of gratitude, expectancy, and even joy.
If you are struggling with despair today, here’s your reminder that you aren’t alone in that. And you don’t have to pull yourself out of the doldrums. Your God, who is faithful, walks alongside you. He will lift you out of the pit of despair. He is a sure foundation, firm through the fiercest drought or storm. He will steady you when you feel unsure or you’re losing your footing. And He will give you a new song to sing, a song of hope and deliverance.
Maybe it won’t look the way you’ve envisioned, but I assure you that there is still hope. There is still so much more—if not in this life, then certainly in the next, when we will see Jesus face to face. He will wipe away all the tears from your swollen eyes and welcome you home. Courage, dear heart. God is near, even here.
[1] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20364651
