Old Long Since

I was watching It’s a Wonderful Life over the Christmas break and as amazing as that movie is I realized it is a better New Year’s movie then a Christmas movie. The movie concludes with the classic song Auld Lang Syne, a song sung primarily at New Year’s now more than any other time of the year in North America. I decided to investigate what the song means and why we sing it at New Year’s.

My primary source was of course Wikipedia, you can read the article here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auld_Lang_Syne

This article talks about the origins and meanings and when and why it is sung in various cultures. What got me was what the intended meaning of the song is. You have to read between the lines a little, but essentially the song urges you to think of friends and times of old as you move forward. Hence why some graduation ceremonies will play this song. Also why George Bailey gets a rousing rendition of this song in It’s a Wonderful Life. He has just had an experience where he is forced to remember and recall all the good things, despite the bad, that he has done or been a part of.

The literal translation of Auld Lang Syne is Old Long Since, and can be thought of as saying “It’s been a while, but let me reflect on what’s happened, who I’ve met, and what I’ve done.” I like that. I like it for New Year’s.

2011 I will remember as a year of change for myself. I had what I call a revolution of biblical proportions. Meaning I revolutionized how I read the Bible, and how I think about ideas of theology and scripture. I am not a heretic, but I wanted to re-evaluate everything I thought I knew, basically stripping away all my Sunday School lessons until I had the bear bones, and begin to rebuild from there. I needed to reassert my belief in God, the Trinity, Christ, the Authority of Scripture and so on. It isn’t over, and it wasn’t always fun, but I will always remember 2011 for that.

I will also think of the people I met this year, or the people I reconnected with, or the people I lost touch with. It happens every year, and sometimes it’s painful and sometimes it’s natural. I like to think we come into each others lives like characters in a story, seemingly with no purpose, until there is a purpose. I like to think of life as a story, and I know this hotly contested by a lot of people, but it’s just my personality and how I see the world, I don’t think it’s for everyone. But I think there is a romantic idea in the world as a story and we are characters in each others stories coming in and out having a large or small effect.

Most of all 2011 is the year I found myself. This sounds horribly cliched, but it’s true. I went through a lot emotionally and spiritually this year, and it helped to restore lost confidence and to root my identity in Christ, where it should be. I am not perfect, nor would I ever claim to be, but I will claim to be more of who God made me to be then perhaps ever before in my life. This has brought about more passion and desire to do certain things, and be a part of certain things, and has also allowed me to begin to say no to things I really just don’t want or need to be a part of.

For old long since this year I reflect upon what has come and gone. Thankful to God, my friends & my family for what has been a memorable year. Here’s to many more!

“My Heart is ravisht with delight,
when thee I think upon;
All Grief and Sorrow takes the flight,
and speedily is gone;
The bright resemblance of thy Face,
so fills this, Heart of mine;
That Force nor Fate can me displease,
for Old long syne.”