Rev. Michelle's Message December 19, 2024

Dear Ones, the Winter Solstice is almost here. This Saturday, December 21, marks the longest night of the year—a day in which the hours of the day are divided equally between sunlight and darkness. From that day onward, the hours of sunlight will begin to get just a little bit longer each day. Before we know it, there will begin to be signs of spring. The long darkness will have ended and we will experience the joy of the return of the light.

While we modern-day humans are not terribly affected by the long nights (recent power outages notwithstanding), the natural world experiences the changes in a much more profound way. Right now, all of nature in the northern hemisphere is engaged in hunkering down, preparing for the harsh cold, fattening up and conserving energy, and dedicating more time to deep rest. Many animals, insects, and reptiles are hibernating, sleeping away the long winter months while they live off of their stored fat. Others are busy gathering and storing food in preparation for the first snowfall when food will be hard to find.

In order for us to feel more connected to the natural world, it can help us to be aware of what the rest of nature is experiencing at this time, even as we comfortably sit inside our homes with our electric lights and central heat. What changes have you noticed in the natural world around where you live? Have you noticed what the animals in your area have been up to lately? How are the plants and trees changing? What are the birds doing? Take a moment this week to simply notice what is happening all around you in nature.

During this Advent season, we are not the only ones who wait for and celebrate the coming of the light. Animals, birds, insects, reptiles, fish, trees, and plants may not understand what the Solstice is, but they have deep instinctual knowing that guides them through the challenging months of winter. Over millennia, they have evolved brilliant adaptations to help them survive, find food, and stay safe. I feel certain that in their own way they “know” the dark won’t last forever. They go about their business doing what they must do, but something in them knows that the light will return. It is coming.

The wind in winter woods is like

a shepherd to his flock of flakes

and soon the firs anticipate

how blessed will be the light.

–Advent by Rainer Maria Rilke

Let us give thanks for the beauty of the changing seasons, for the gifts of the darkness, for the deep knowing we all share, and for the hope and promise of the returning light. Happy Winter Solstice!

Solstice Blessings,

Rev. Michelle