Do you get as tired of winter as I do? It’s the darkness that gets me down—so many gray, cloudy days with no sunshine in sight. Yuck! I’m so glad yesterday was the first day of spring. I’m ready for warm days and sunny skies.

Maybe I have seasonal affective disorder (SAD—what an appropriate acronym!). Do you realize that although there are treatments for those of us who need more light, there has not been a single treatment developed for anyone who craves more darkness? Have you ever heard of anyone who wants to be in deeper darkness and despair? No, I didn’t think so.

One of the things I miss in the wintertime are the flowers. Well, everything about me except my sinuses misses them, anyway. I wish I had real flowers on my table all year long like Chick-fil-A does—one of the many reasons I love eating there. Yes, I know there are plants you can grow inside all year. Unfortunately, I have two black thumbs—give me a plant and I can kill it within weeks. I’ve just about resigned myself to artificial ones. They require only a little dusting occasionally, and as long as no one gets too close and tries to smell them, nowadays they could almost pass for real ones.

So far, the only reprieve in my plant killing spree is a shamrock a dear friend brought to me when I had cancer surgery three years ago. I’ve almost done it in a few times, but it must be very hardy because with a little fertilizer and water, it perks right up. But the delicate little white blooms I love so much don’t appear often. Maybe I could coax it to bloom more if I’d be willing to spend the time to pamper it, but that obviously takes more effort than I’m willing to expend. And, besides, you know—the black thumb thing. I’m just grateful it’s still hanging on despite my abuse.

But I digress. I actually could go with several lines of thought here, such as the quality of care we expend on our relationships causing them to either flourish or die. Maybe another day. Right now, I’m headed in a different direction related to the Scripture above, Ephesians 5:8-9.

Where is the spot in your kitchen that’s the darkest corner available, maybe the place you store your potatoes? Try as I may, I can’t find a place where they won’t sprout. Of course, that has a lot to do with how long I can forget I have them, but it doesn’t take long at all. And it really doesn’t matter how dark and secluded the spot I’ve chosen for them.

It takes only a little ray of light to begin the process of growth which, of course, is my point. In this often troubled and dark world we inhabit, it takes only the tiniest ray of light and hope from God to trigger the growth of His love, no matter how cold and dark the heart may have grown.

We were all full of darkness until the Lord brought us into the light. Our task now is to “live like children who belong to the light” and to share that light through “every kind of goodness, right living and truth.”

Let’s commit to bringing God’s light into at least one person’s world today. Sometimes all it takes is a smile, a listening ear, and a reminder that God is in control. His love can reach into the darkest hole where the evil one wants our shame to drive us. There we try in vain to hide from God. But God’s light can always find a way into hearts we thought were long dead. And when it does, it produces a life full of hope and joy which then overflows into the lives of those around us.

Won’t it be glorious when we no longer need worry about clouds covering the sun because our light will emanate from the awesome presence of God’s Son!