I Am Singing A New Song!

“The old song of my spirit has wearied itself out. 

 It has long ago been learned by heart;

 It repeats itself over and over, 

Bringing no added joy to my days or lift to my spirit.” (Howard Thurman)

My new year 2018 began on the first day of Advent (Sunday, December 3, 2017).  I will not be in Times Square tomorrow night to watch the ball drop, but I will be pondering the year that has been and wondering what 2018 may bring.  I think such pondering is a healthy exercise.

The year 2017 for me was the best of years and the worst of years to paraphrase Charles Dickens’ words from A Tale of Two Cities. It began with a really terrific road trip of nearly two-months across this wonderful country of ours, visiting family and friends, seeing places and things never seen before, and experiencing the people and the wonders of this land that is mine and yours.  Snow, rain, hail, tornadoes, thunder and lightning, fierce winds,  bitter cold, and blizzard forecasts did not deter or in any way diminish that wonderful time on the road in the winter of 2017. BUT upon our return home, I developed a flu-like bug that really put me down for nearly four weeks. Never before had I experienced such a long-term “down and out” kind of illness (except for a bout of pneumonia some 15 years ago).  BUT spring came, Easter broke through, and I was tending my flowerbeds and feeling full of life.  THEN, we went off again a’traveling with two of my siblings and their spouses to the Greek  Isles—a dream trip of a lifetime.  Oh, what a great time we had together! BUT, the very day we arrived home we learned that my mother-in-law had been hospitalized.  My wife immediately boarded a plane and spent the next several months in California. THEN, shortly after she returned, I ended up in the hospital for four days with what the ER doctor called “life-threatening” diverticulitis.  BUT, we were able to travel to Maine in September for a taste of lobster and clam chowder and I was able to make several solo trips to do some fishing and to visit friends in West Virginia and Kentucky.  THEN, we had the joy of being part of our granddaughter’s wedding in late October.  BUT, shortly thereafter, I was again visiting hospitals, undergoing tests, getting acquainted with new friends in vascular medicine, and now I’m taking more “pills” than I did before.  THEN came Thanksgiving and believe me, I was thankful. NOW, I have a new year ahead of me and today I’m celebrating the Sixth Day of Christmas!  As I look back and look ahead—I discover it wasn’t such a bad year at all!

My point is simply this:  I’m singing a new song; a different song from the song I sang in 2017.  I’m singing a new song for 2018.  It is not a song of complaint.  No, not at all!  It is just a new song for a new time, a new year, for new awareness, and for new joys.  

“I will sing a new song.

I must learn the new song for the new needs.

I must fashion new words born of all the new growth

  of my life—of my mind—of my spirit.

I must prepare for new melodies that have never been mine before,

That all that is within me may lift my voice unto God.

Therefore, I shall rejoice with each new day

And delight my spirit in each fresh unfolding.

I will sing, this day, a new song unto the Lord.”  

(Howard Thurman, The Mood of Christmas) 

My son, Paul, singing his new song
 some years ago.  New melodies come
with every new Season of life.