Auld Lang Syne - If you’ve been awake until midnight on New Year’s Eve, you’ve heard this song. Many of us try to sing along but very few of us actually know the words. In fact, it has been estimated that only 3% of people know the words (probably based on some random survey outside of a grocery story by an unknown journalist in a now forgotten article).  That number seems high to me!

These words are from a poem written by Scottish poet Robert Burns in 1788. Basically, the words auld lang syne means “old long since” roughly translated as “times gone by.” The poem is thought to have been taken from a Scottish folk song which was written to say goodbye to the current year. 

As the old year passes and the new year begins, I think it is worth taking a moment to reflect and remember. In the book of Genesis in the Bible, God tells people several times to stop and build an altar. This command was given to Moses, Abraham, and Isaac to memorialize a place where they had an encounter with God, to give thanks and to remind them of God’s faithfulness (Genesis 8:20, 12:7, 22:9, 26:25).

There’s something to this concept of looking back at the year to recall and remember both the good and the hard times. One year that stands out to me in terms of reflecting, was 2020, a year that looking back was super meaningful for me. At a quick glance, I would’ve said that it was a year of shutdowns and disappointment. I would have said that it was a year filled with fear and uncertainty. I would have said that all the changes caused some anxiety. It was a year that we experienced the underbelly of humanity (in regard to racial issues brought to light with George Floyd’s death). But during the week between Christmas and New Year’s, I made a photo album to memorialize the year. (I’m not particularly tech-savvy but it’s not hard to do with a phone and a computer.) To my surprise, as I reviewed my pictures from the year, I saw all the good in the year as well. There were pictures of friends outside around our fire pit, family gatherings in the garage, and lots of entertaining on the front porch; my year was still full of family and friends–it just looked different. I saw God’s faithfulness as I looked back at my pictures. As I reflected on the year, I realized how much I had learned and grown.  Literally looking back at pictures, reminded me of how God had cared for me in the year. 

Or if I look back over this current year, there have been a few uncomfortable conflicts in my extended family that have left me feeling unsettled, and then last week a family member passed away. If I focus on what I’m feeling, it would be easy for me to say on New Year’s Eve, “this has been a hard year.” While it is true there have been hard things, there has also been much for which I can be thankful. I have family, friends, health, and a roof over my head. I belong to a Bible believing church and have the freedom to worship as I please, when I please. Additionally my photos reveal that I have had lots of fun this year. My photo reel of the year shows the good life I have lived. 

Maybe you’re not a picture taker, but I encourage you to stop and reflect. Perhaps you have journaled from time to time, or maybe you could go through your calendar to see what your year included. Maybe your year was extremely difficult and your mind immediately goes to that awful experience or loss. I don’t want to gloss over your pain.

As a mental health counselor, I can tell you that the process of looking for the good is very beneficial. If we continually think about only the negative things in our life, our brains get stuck in that direction. To stop and see the good can physically help the neurons in our brains to begin to fire in a different (more positive) direction. 

Looking back over the year gives us a vehicle to recall God’s goodness and mercy. No matter what I have been through in life, in retrospect, I can see God’s hand at work. I can’t always see it in the moment (or maybe even in the current year), but when looking back, I can always see His provision and mercy. This is not the same as saying I always like the situation I find myself in, but I can see His presence in the situation. Reflection is a way to see God’s care for me. 

This year I am asking some questions:

What can I learn from this past year? 

Did I live it well? 

Is this busyness what God has for me? 

Are the things I am doing God’s best for me? 

How would I like to live next year differently?

I have decided to choose a word and a “verse of the year” for 2023. I am seeking God’s direction on this. I am asking Him what He wants for me in this area. My lead choice for verse of the year at the moment is: 

The name of the Lord is a fortified tower;
the righteous run to it and are safe. 

Proverbs 18:10.

I’m not sure of the word(s) but I think I know the direction we are going; it seems to be something like: pause, simplify, breathe, or be still. I plan to continually pray over this verse and this word and ask God to show me how to live them out in 2023. 

Regardless of what kind of year you have had, I encourage you to think of 2023 as a new beginning. God is a God of new beginnings: 

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!   Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness  and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19

Here are some verses that you may wish to consider as you think about the new beginnings of a new year. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR. May you feel God’s peace and presence like never before in 2023. 

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. Ephesians 1:18-19

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 1 Peter 5:10

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21

Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil. Proverbs 4:25-27

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

ABOUT OUR BLOGGER

Bonnie Kotler and her husband Mitch have two daughters, three sons, seven grandchildren and three grand-puppies. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years before re-entering the workforce after receiving her M.S. in Counseling and Human Relations from Villanova University. She is a licensed professional counselor at The Peacemaker Center and her own private practice, True North Counseling. Bonnie has been on the Willowdale women’s ministry teaching team since 2012. Bible studies have played a key role in her walk as a believer, and in turn, she loves to help other women find their peace with God and grow in their faith. She enjoys writing Bible study materials, reading fiction, spending time with family and doing anything in the sunshine. Bonnie loves to laugh and considers laughter as the best medicine.  Psalm 126:2

There’s a great quote by Jen Wilkin, bible teacher and author:  “We must make a study of our God: what he loves, what he hates, how he speaks and acts. We cannot imitate a God whose features and habits we have never learned. We must make a study of him if we want to become like him. We must seek his face.”

Our goal in our women's groups, as we study God's word, is to be more like Jesus.  It takes time and accountability and friends to do it with.  Will you join us?  It just may be the best decision you make in 2023! Check out our new winter groups for women HERE.  Please register by January 6 so we have plenty of materials. Please let me know if you have any questions figuring out the best group for you this winter.  I'm happy to help get you connected!

Carole Hoy
Women's and Groups' Pastor, Willowdale Chapel
choy@willowdalechapel.org