The Ever Present Sunshine

We, who live in Michigan face many, many days without a glimpse of the sunshine or even the blue sky!. It is more a gloomy shade of gray day after day especially during the long winter months. Today was no exception. It is mid November and most of the leaves have fallen from the trees and the landscape is very barren. Add the gunmetal gray sky and the wind and now the incessant rain.  From dawn til dusk the colors remain unchanged. It is during this time of the year that we start longing for snow! It brightens up the terrain and even though we still go many days without sunshine, the snow enhances the outdoors.

The winters can be very taxing on us because of the lack of sunshine and the cold bitter temperatures.  We all have to combat this scenario somehow! I personally love the outdoors and especially love the sun so I battle with this all winter.  Here are a few of my coping mechanisms.

I have a Vitamin D lamp. It wasn’t cheap, about $300 but it does a great job of producing Vitamin D in your skin, mimicking the sunshine.  It is the best way for us to get this necessary vitamin during the winter.  I can’t take vitamin D in supplement form it upsets my nervous system.  My lamp has made a huge difference for my health, as my vitamin D levels have gone up, my immune system has become stronger.  A vitamin D deficiency can cause very serious health issues. It is wise to have a blood test to determine where your levels are at and then work at raising that level to a normal range.

My second coping method is by using a lot of lights. I spend most of my time in my kitchen and family room by the fire and I turn on all available lighting.  We have a wrap around porch which blocks a lot of the natural light so we installed many interior lights to offset this issue.

My favorite coping mechanism is to go to Florida and visit my parents during the dark gloomy days in February! It is so amazing to leave Michigan where the temperature is below zero and 2 hours later to arrive in Florida and bask in the balmy sunshine!

No matter how gloomy, rainy snowy or icy the day is outside, the sun is always shining. It’s just shining above the clouds and we can’t see it with our natural eyesight.  Whenever our trials get us down and all we can see is the gloom and feel the despair weighing us down, we need to visualize that sunshine above the clouds! The same God who gives us joy on the sunny days is still there in the exact same place. The sunshine in our hearts that He provides is a steady constant source of sustaining life to us whether we are in the valley or on the mountaintop. We would love for there to be constant sunny days and no heartaches to endure but unfortunately that will never happen here on earth. Instead God has provided constant sunshine, we just need to remember it’s always there shining just above that wall of clouds!