The Gift of the Solstice

The Gift of the Solstice



The leaves of autumn once again left us breathless with their annual color show. There are but a few left clinging to the barren branches that now sway and creak under the command of a new wind. The brisk playful winds that once carried the multi colored leaves across the landscape of fading green grass have given way to the daunting winds of winter. The fallen leaves have lost the brilliant color that once caught our eye as they drifted lazily to the ground, they now lie brown and crisp upon the breast of Mother Earth. We are reminded that yet another season has come and gone. The Creator has given us a blessed “light” time of the year and the gift of a bountiful harvest.

The Earth is now in the full grip if winter, the frozen landscape is occasionally blanketed with snow and the bright green grass is either a warm memory of summer or a hopeful dream of spring. It is a time when the darkness has overtaken the light, causing the shortened days and longer nights. This “dark” time of year is a trial for the spirit that longs for the turning of the wheel of life and return of the light and warmth that sustains us all.

The winter solstice is upon us as a reminder of the Creators promise of the returning light. It is at this time of year that many religious paths celebrate in various ways the keeping of the Creators promise. Each path has its own interpretation and way of honoring this promise. Some honor this time by marking the anniversary of a prophecy fulfilled while others remember a time when the Creators hand was seen in certain miraculous events in history, and then there are those that choose to honor this time by seeing the Creators promise in nature. No matter how this promise is remembered, it is a miracle in itself to think that at this time of year all over the world people of different faiths and social backgrounds are celebrating the return of the light just as we are.

We celebrate this time not only to mark the passing of the seasons and to remind ourselves that the wheel of time continues to turn and once again spring will bring the Creators bounty back to the earth, but we are reminded that the Creator will see us through the “dark “ times of life. Just as this is a time to remember the Creators promise, it is also a time to gather with friends and family and to embrace the warmth of loved ones, for we are one of the tools that the Creator uses to see the spirit through the dark times in life. As each of us was created with a spark of the divine residing within our soul, we in essence are a symbol of the light that is the Creators promise. We have the inherent ability to see each other through the trials of life by allowing that spark of the divine to shine through us and become the gift of the solstice, the gift of the light of love and peace.