Hibernating

November 19, 2022

Ah, it’s that season again, time for feasting. Maybe, deep within each human, is the desire to hibernate. We know from the animal kingdom that hibernation must be preceded by a time of extra eating. Animals that hibernate store extra fat to make it through the months of sleep.

In reality, we don’t hibernate. Even in the cold of winter we go about our regular daily routine. We do, however, eat extra this time of year.

We eat to celebrate. Thanksgiving calls for time spent gathering with friends and relatives, a reason to feast. We are thankful for so much that God has blessed us with.

All of December is a celebration of Christ’s birth; our overeating is a proclamation of the abundant life Jesus brought. All the sweets celebrate how sweet our Savior is.

New Years Day is a time of great hope because of the blessings we see ahead of us.

We forget that one of our blessings is self-control. Galatians 5:22-23 lists “the fruit of the spirit,” qualities that grow in us as we grow closer to God. I notice that self-control is the last of the nine qualities listed. Does that mean that it’s the hardest to obtain?

It is for me.

Perhaps there is room for celebration and restraint. I have to admit that there are days between family feasts during which I could exhibit control. Every meal does not need to be a feast. Every delicacy does not need to be indulged in. I don’t have to give up and give in for a couple months, only to feel regret and remorse when I weigh myself on January 2.

I don’t have to fight the battle alone. I can ask God to help. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”