2011 Bottom 5 – #4: #216 – Falling Back

I still have no affinity for the conclusion of Daylight Savings Time. Now that we’ve passed the winter solstice, though, I’m feeling a lot better. I actually liked this post. Maybe it never caught on because people love the fall too much.

I think Superman is pretty lame. Even with that, we still have something in common.

We both like the sun.

Superman likes the sun because it’s what gives him his super powers. Something in the radiation from our yellow sun turns the normal Kryptonian, Kal-El, into the extraordinary Superman.

The sun doesn’t give me super powers but it does energize and excite me.

So the annual tradition of setting back clocks and ending daylight savings time has quite the effect on me. In the two months following the end of daylight savings time, until the winter solstice, I am mopier, more unmotivated and more prone to want to stay inside.

There are some people who love this time of year and the opportunity to cuddle up with a book, sit by a fire or drink some hot chocolate. But I hate the dark. I hate this time of year. And I’ve got some biblical evidence to support my feelings.

1 John

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. – 1 John 1:5-7

The darkness is justifiably denigrated because it is obviously anti-God. God is light and is not present in the darkness. So people can have all the fires and hot chocolate they want, but I’d much rather have God. Really, we could question whether or not anyone who claims autumn as their favorite season has fellowship with God at all. I know God is omnipresent, but he’s much more omnipresent in the spring and summer.

The Plague of Darkness

When God wanted to punish the Egyptians for not releasing the Israelites, he didn’t send a plague of sunshine and butterflies. God sent a plague of darkness to cover the entire land of Egypt. It was completely dark for three days in Egypt. It was so dark that no one could see anyone else, and nobody had in their possession Frodo’s Light of Eärendil. It was sad times in the dark because the dark is terrible. God’s anger and wrath was found in the darkness over the Egyptians, but his love and goodness hung over the Israelites who had light wherever they went.

Joshua at Gibeon

When Joshua wanted to defeat the Amorites at Gibeon, he didn’t say, “Sun, descend an hour earlier than normal so we can have less daylight.” No, Joshua said, “Sun, stand still” and used the extra daylight to defeat his enemies. So much more can be accomplished during when it’s light outside. Even though we live in a technologically advance society, I still want to shut things down when the sun sets, like an 18^th century farmer. Joshua’s victory shows that daylight is far more valuable than darkness. And, if that wasn’t enough to convince you, this story was also referenced in the film masterpiece A Knight’s Tale.

I know that there are seasons for everything, including darkness and light. Living in southern California we really don’t even have to experience that much darkness. Sure it gets dark earlier but it can also be sunny and 70 on Christmas Day. Even with those concessions, I’m still planning on putting my head down and pushing through the next two months. I love Christmas and one of the best presents is that the days start to get longer.

Since this is a season of darkness, maybe I could see if curling up on the couch with a blanket and watching A Knight’s Tale could improve my mood.

How do you feel about falling back and the days getting shorter?