A New Day Dawning

Where has the time gone? It is hard to believe that in just a few short hours another year will have come and gone and will have taken its place among the annals of history. It seems that with each passing year, though the amount of days and hours remain the same, the hands of time seem to move at a much swifter rate. With all of the incidences that occur in life over the course of a year, sometimes even the swiftest runner in the race can find it difficult to maintain a steady pace.

As a new day dawns on the horizon inviting the beginning of a brand new year, what will the pages of history record as a descriptive summary of the year that we are about to bid farewell to? Perhaps the words from the opening paragraph of Charles Dickens' timeless classic "A Tale of Two Cities" could be used to put the cap on the pen after the final words of this, another chapter in our lives has been written. Describing the times about which he was writing, the English novelist wrote:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
As I reflect upon the events that have occurred in my own personal life during this past year, I could honestly surmize that the days now gone by have been some of the best of times, as well as, some of the worst of times. There have been many mountains to climb and many rivers to cross. There have been some lofty mountain top experiences, and there have been some seemingly cold and lonely nights spent in low valleys. There have been times of laughter and great rejoicing, and there have been times of tears and great sorrow. But, through it all, I have been blessed and sustained by the tender mercies of the Lord. I am ever mindful of the words of the Psalmist when he said, "weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning" (Psalm 30:5).

Sometimes, if I allow myself to focus on only the negatives, it can seem as if there is no joy to be had. It becomes easy to immitate Ophelia from William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and find myself crying, "O, woe is me, To have seen what I have seen, see what I see!" However, I choose not to focus on the negatives. Instead I see the negatives - the challenges that I often face in my life - as stepping stones that eventually lead me to greener pastures where I have a chance to sit and rest beside still waters as the Lord restores my soul.

Tonight is New Year's Eve, and of this night, Hamilton Wright Mabie, an American essayist, editor, critic, and lecturer once said:
New Year's eve is like every other night; there is no pause in the march of the universe, no breathless moment of silence among created things that the passage of another twelve months may be noted; and yet no man has quite the same thoughts this evening that come with the coming of darkness on other nights.And it was Hal Borland, a well-known American author and journalist who said, "Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us."

With the new day dawning, and as the Lord allows me to go on, and as my thoughts are turned heavenward, I resolve to continue to "lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. [For] my help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer [my] foot to be moved: he that keepeth [me] will not slumber" (Psalm 121:1-3). I further resolve to "be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season" (Psalm 1:3). I know that as I delight in the law of the Lord, and meditate upon His law by day and by night, the leaves of my tree shall not wither, and whatsoever I do shall prosper. (See Psalm 1: 2,3) And I also resolve to forget those things which are behind and reach forth unto those things which are before, pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (See Philippians 3:13,14)

As the new day dawns, we will open the book to a brand new page to begin writing a new chapter in our life. How will we begin this new chapter? No matter how we choose to begin, the words that we write, and the story that we will tell will be our own. As we begin a brand new year let us be reminded of the words of wisdom of English author G.K. Chesterton who said:
The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes. Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective. I wish for all of you a bright, productive, and successful New Year. God bless!

~ Keith Lionel Brown, Annapolis Maryland, 31 December 2011

Lessons in the Key of Life

Lessons that I have learned as I journey through life.

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