Auld Lang Syne... Remember Me

With each tick of the clock, the New Year is rapidly approaching. The dawn of a New Year is on the horizon. 2012 is coming to an end, soon to be nothing more than a memory. Ahead of us is 2013, it is fresh, unfamiliar, raw and uncultivated. Soon we will make our introductions!

Within a few hours we will celebrate the passing of a year, and walk into the threshold of a new year. How will we enter? What from the previous years of our lives will we carry into 2013? Will we dress this infant year in the rags of the past, or do we have fresh attire to swaddle it in. Have we laid to rest our sorrows, and buried our disappointments in the sands of time in 2012? Are we hopeful or fearfully cynical of what lies ahead?

There is an old Scottish tune that is traditionally sung as we pass from one year into the next. The poetry of Auld Lang Syne calls us to remember our old past relationships...”for the sake of the old times”. Memories can be an enduring friend or a fiendish foe.

“Should Old Acquaintance be forgot,
and never thought upon;
The flames of Love extinguished,
and fully past and gone:
Is thy sweet Heart now grown so cold,
that loving Breast of thine;
That thou canst never once reflect
Auld lang syne.”

I  encourage you to lean into the new year with a fresh hope. In these last few moments, look back and remember your journey. Who did you encounter this past year, who was that unexpected person that crossed your path? A new friend? A new love? A new child born into the family? A new roommate? Or that certain person who gazed into your eyes for a brief moment, causing you to stop and ponder? Where did your daily steps take you ... Work? Home? To college? Did you travel? See a new country? Did you cross a new street? What detours were placed before you, preventing you from taking the same old beaten trail? What were the trials and tribulations that proved you were not a quitter? What conflict was resolved through your constant perseverance? What was your song of the year? A Requiem, a March, a Ballad, a Love Song... or possibly a Song of Deliverance?

2012 is a part of your history, what do you choose to remember? As the song sings of reflection, what will you hold dear and nurture at your breast? Or has your heart grown cold with remembering? Make a sweet melody and sing your songs, so you will remember again...Auld Lang Syne....for the sake of old times.

There was a celebration one evening, it was to mark an end of a time, an era... it was a gathering to cause remembrance. It was a time to Ring out the old, and Ring in the new! Out with the old covenant and in to a new, fresh, eternal covenant. These friends gathered together to share one last meal together. It was a celebration feast... All looked to the Host of the meal with
anticipation and expectation... One gentleman was so eager he laid his head on the chest of the Host, to enable him to capture every breath of truth that flowed from His heart. During this meal the Host talked to them using the meal before them to paint a memory. He took the bread and broke it and said, “Remember Me, for this is my body broken for you.” He took His wine and raised His cup and said, “Remember Me... for this is my blood poured out for you...And every time you eat and drink... Remember Me.”

Tonight as you raise your glass to the passing year... Remember. Re-collect your memories. Remember the promise... all things have become new, the old has passed away, the fresh and new has come! Remember every road you have traveled that pushed you to your limit, testing you, showing you what you were made of. Remember the days of health and rejoicing. Remember the goodness and the kindness of others, Remember the grace. Remember the mercy. Remember the flames of His fierce love, an and set your sights to the horizon of 2013....

From my family to yours....Happy New Year!