WTF is Auld Lang Syne?

Do you know what that means??   Yeah, me either.  He!!, I didn’t even know how to spell it.  I have often bellowed out the first few words of “Should old acquaintance be forgot…” at the stroke of midnight; however, the rest of the lyrics usually fade away to cheers and horns. 

New Years Eve ain’t what it used to be for this forty-seven-year-old momma.  I am happily content with the television version of times square at midnight.  Still, whether in my head or aloud, “Auld Lang Syne” rings true each year.  Apologies, as I am guessing the melody is now stuck in your head.

So, out of curiosity, I researched the meaning into this famous tune.

As it turns out, the song poses a rhetorical question:  Should old times be forgotten?  

“Auld Lang Syne” is commonly used to signal endings and new beginnings… but forgotten??

Well, as far as 2020 goes, the standard answer would be “yes!” …forget that $#*+. 

I have struggled with this all year, in fact.  Admittedly, I am confused by the “forget the past,” yet “hold onto the past” mentality.  Is it possible to do both?  We have become so d@^n divided on this topic, especially as this year brought tensions to a head. 

Sure, I would LOVE a mulligan on everything I did wrong in my life.  Who wouldn’t? 

How wonderful it would be to have a “do-over” on the parts which caused pain and heartache, too.  I would have so enjoyed missing out on chemotherapy; I could have skipped right over the pain of divorce; and how awesome if I were not gifted with abandonment from both parents.  Yup, how kicka$$ would that be?

Well, let me tell ya:  a do-over would suck.  Cancer took my fertility, resulting in the adoption of our second son.  Divorce left me broken, but it led me to the husband and family I have today.  Parental abandonment was a double bonus. It gave me the gift of being raised by my grandparents and it taught me to rely upon myself.  Some may even call me a little “firecracker.”   I call it: happiness.

Perhaps all we need is a change of perspective.

So, I ask you:  would you erase the ugly parts of your past?  Would you instead cling tightly to them?  Could you celebrate where it took you?  

We are human.  God designed us with flaws.  These flaws are opportunities.  Yep, that’s right.  We can wallow in our hardships and imperfections or we can take these chances to lean in.  Reach for the faith that is waiting with open arms.  Forget not the past, as it was a chance for you to succeed at your relationship with Christ.  It was an opportunity to embrace the Lord.  It was a gift.  It took you where you needed to be, even when you felt lost.

I cannot imagine a greater hardship than when I envision the physical pain of Jesus bleeding on the cross.  There for you.  There for me.  There for us.

And yet, He does not ask for a mulligan.  He does not wallow in the pain he suffered for us.  He does not quit. 

As we turn and celebrate a new year, especially after one as $#*++y as last year, should we forget as the song asks?

I think not.  As is with faith and in the unseen, we should always believe.  We should believe that there is some sort of reckoning happening around us. 

Let us embrace this new year, as we do not let go of the last one.  As much as we would love to have skipped from 2019 to 2021, perhaps we would not have the same eyes on the fireworks or ears for “Auld Lang Syne.”

For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.            Romans 15:4

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