Not Good.

But not defective.

January brings me down. I can feel the end of football. Sounds trivial, but watching football with my dad was a childhood pleasure and a when the season is over, I feel one of life’s simple comforts evaporating for half a year.

It gets cold. Where I live, January brings subzero temperatures. You can see the sun but not feel it. Dog walking and any other outdoor enjoyments are shortened, if not eliminated.

The tax organizer packet arrives for the pile of 2025 stuff and a new pile of 2026 records begins.

For many, January carries on the pain of holidays marred by loss, or regret, or disappointment.

I bumped into a friend at the market at the end of December, and asked, “How was your Christmas?”

“Not good,” he growled, turning away.

Sadness, from bummed, to grieving, to dark depression, isn’t confined to January. But January brought it to mind, and after the encounter at the market, I sent a message to my friend (who is a brother in Christ),

Remember that sad is not defective. Our Lord was a "man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" (Isaiah 53:3) who said, "Blessed are those who mourn." (Matthew 5:4)

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In the pastoral advice of the Apostle Paul, sadness is not lesser than joy. Both emotions are entitled to our attention and support,

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. (Romans 12:15)

If you are sad in this season, or whenever, you are not defective. It’s not good that you’re in pain. Neither is it a flaw. May you sense the Lord’s presence and compassion.