No, dear brothers, I am still not all that I should be, but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us up to heaven because of what Christ Jesus did for us. Philippians 3:13-14
It’s hard to believe that a New Year is arriving, and we have the opportunity to gather again to usher it in. No matter where we are if we make it to midnight to ring in this new year, we will probably sing or hear the song Auld Lang Syne.
The song Auld Lang Syne was originally a Scotts language poem written by Robert Burns. In 1799, it was set to a traditional tune which is now sung in many countries to bid farewell to the old year at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve. Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians played the song in Times Square for many years beginning in 1929, and I remember hearing it in the 50’s from my Mom and Dad I can’t remember a single gathering we have attended where it is not played and/or sung to ring in the New Year.
The strange thing is that this song begins with a question, “Should old acquaintances be forgot and never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot and Auld Lang Syne?” Auld Lang Syne is defined as times long past or loosely translated it means for the sake of old times. So basically we are saying should we forget what is past and move forward.
As we embark on this New Year of two thousand and twenty two, maybe it would behoove us all to move forward with a clean slate. Who knows what new experiences or changes will come our way? What new needs will arise? What we will find in this New Year? The only certainty is that we are entering a year that will most certainly consist of hills and valleys, so as we make our resolutions, we should remember the promise of our Father who tells us that His mercy will never fail us.
A resolution is defined as a firm decision to do or not do something. Some people say that resolutions are made to be broken, but we’d be lying if we said we don’t all make them. In the tradition of the New Year, there are a few resolutions that I believe are God given for me for this year.
First on the list of my resolutions is forgiveness. God tells us that when we harbor unforgiveness and resentment, we really hurt no one but ourselves. The person who has wronged us has long since moved on, and our hurt doesn’t matter to them. We only hurt ourselves when we don’t forgive. God never believes we are large enough to forget, but He does require forgiveness.
Secondly, I want to stay positive. There are so many cynics and negative gossip going on everywhere these days that it is easy to become a product of those who spread it. Gossip is like a cancer which can’t be allowed to continue. It maims the innocent and lifts up the guilty. There’s an old saying, Believe nothing of what you hear and only half of what you see. This year our energies would best be invested in the positive, present moment and remember, “With God all things are possible.”
This year I want to live with the three E’s: Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy. It’s a goal of mine in this new year to tackle every day with enough energy to get things done, enough enthusiasm to make the day joyful for others and myself, and enough empathy to reach out to those who need a kind word or deed.
Finally, this year I resolve to live each day with this thought, Love never fails. The truth is there’s nothing any of us can do to make God love us more and nothing we can do to make Him love us less. His love never fails.
This year my prayer is that we would all live our best life this coming year. We should never linger in the valleys because we are afraid to climb the mountains before us. We have no idea the blessings that await us at the top.
For Auld Lang Syne, my dear; For Auld Lang Syne. We’ll take a cup of kindness yet, For Auld Lang Syne. Robert Burns