There it is. I actually figured out what ‘auld lang syne’ means: days of long ago. Auld Lang Syne is the title of the most popular New Year’s Eve song. The poet Robert Burns combined his own lyrics with an old Scottish song: “Should old acquaintances be forgot/ And never brought to mind/ Should old acquaintances be forgot/ And auld lang syne.”
In just a few short weeks a New Year is ready to be swallowed by the old one by a quick flip in my clock, and I’m thinking of the traditional New Year resolutions. I have a few. This year has been filled with some losses, some tears, but also with wisdom concerning God’s will, restoration, answered prayers, hope and joy… I look forward to God’s promise of good things to come next year as well: “For I know the plans I have for you. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11. My first resolution is to trust in this promise and fully commit my every day life to God for him to mold as he sees fit. In fact I will make no plans of my own. I will lay my hopes and desires at God’s feet and patiently await his gentle guidance. As relieved as I am to see some things come to and end, I am actually grateful for this past year and all its hardships because as I now look upon it in retrospect, I see God’s hand all over it. He lovingly allowed trials and tribulations only to chisel away at my pride, fears, doubts, envy, and transform me into a more patient, humble and more dependent on God type of person. This year has been a preliminary imperative in my understanding, accepting and finally submitting to God’s direction for my life. I really do feel that God has used this year to prepare me to better live the New Year soon arriving.
I think we all hope for next year to be better than the one before, or perhaps just as good for some of us. We all look forward to exciting new things, and make plans to loose weight, or visit places long missed or unseen, get married, have a baby, find a new job, move to a new house, shed old habits. Whatever the new resolution is, the coming of a new year is always representative of hope. We all NEED to have the expectation of a certain something to happen, to take place. God designed us to want something more for our lives and that is: Him. To plan is basically to have a detailed program for our lives, and arrangement of some sort, but only God can fulfill the hole we are trying to pack in with our own desires, pursuits and aspirations. So instead of making plans for next year, I will simply yield my every thought and action to God, praying to him for all my decisions, patiently awaiting his response and willingly obeying his instruction. It really is the only way to anticipate a new year. I will leave old habits behind that impede me from hearing God’s will, and that shackle my feet from moving in His direction. God is not really concerned with how many years I am going to live in comfort on this earth. To him “…a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day.” 2Peter 3:8. What he wants from us is to ‘get it’, to accept Him as the Lord of our lives, and lead a life of moral excellence in all the years to come: “If you want a happy life and good days, keep your tongue from speaking evil, and keep your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good. Work hard at living in peace with others. The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers.” 1Peter 3:10-12.
Word of the day: PLENTEOUSNESS
By Roxana Phillip-Hackett
Roxana is a wife of one, mother of two, who loves to share her faith with sincerity and honesty from her home in Hendersonville Tennessee.
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