We are closing out another calendar year. Around the New Year, we have all sung the song “Auld Lang Syne,” most likely without knowing what it actually means. It is an 18th-century Scottish ballad that has become synonymous with the new year. The version of the song we sing today is based on Robert Burns’ poem, which he attributed to “an old man singing,” a traditional Scottish song.

The phrase translated literally means “Old Long Since” but the meaning is closer to “old times,” or “the olden days,” or “for the sake of old times.” Usually the first verse and the chorus are sung. It is a mostly secular song, but it was traditionally used as a funeral oration. However, it came to mean more. It was popularized in the United States by Guy Lombardo in the 1920s and 1930s, including on his New Year’s Eve show.

It poses a rhetorical question, and of course, we should not forget our old friends or the old times we have experienced. The song encourages people to reflect on the year coming to a close as we move forward into the year ahead. Part of reflecting is being thankful for the people close to us and our memories.

The past year has been filled with laughter and tears, joy and sorrow, wins and losses, and progress and failures. We have worried and been relieved. Most of us have likely made new friends and seen old ones move on to new seasons of life. Change has been constant, and some have navigated life circumstances they never thought they would.

Through it all, God remained faithful, constant, dependable, and sure. Let’s not forget all of the life we have lived over the past year. Let’s look ahead with confidence, optimism, and hope at the New Year on the horizon.

“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