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‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE NEW YEAR’S
By Charlie Grier
‘Twas the night before New Year’s and all thru the earth
The people were seeking for pleasure and mirth –
While down in their hearts was the ill-concealed fear
That world-wide catastrophe lingered quite near.
The more the earth shrinks the more complex our borders.
Must cultural improvement bring on new disorders?
The higher our standards the more discontent –
I racked my poor brain to see what it all meant?
Then out of it all there came clearly the hunch
To save this old world I must put in MY punch!
No longer down-grading what other folks do
The plain path of duty is MINE to pursue!
I can’t stop the war, but I CAN stop the feud
‘Twixt me and my neighbor, my wife and the brood.
The financial ills of this world I can’t solve,
But MY OWN obligations I’ll meet with resolve!
The Leaders of State may continue to blunder –
The selfish and grasping continue to plunder –
I’m against many wrongs, like corruption, and war,
But this year I’ll ask myself, “WHAT AM I FOR?”
The church may not meet with my highest approval
But I will not ask for the Pastor’s removal.
The faults of my neighbor are easy to see
But this year I’ll ask myself, “WHAT ABOUT ME?”
New decade unfolding, a new year begins –
Who knows what we’ll face before it all ends?
We never will master the world’s problems grim
Until grace has MASTERED the monster within!
-Homespun Poems (1973)p.20
Today is New Year’s Eve! It is hard to believe that another year has gone by. As we reflect on 2009 and consider the future of 2010, many people will be making New Year’s Resolutions.
I was reviewing some of Charlie Grier’s New Year’s articles and I found something interesting in his article for 2003. Perhaps He found the secret! He made some very inspiring resolutions for that year. In 2003 Charlie was 97 years old. Let’s take a look at what he desired to do.
MY GOAL FOR 2003
By Charlie Grier
- I want to pray more, and with increased faith.
- My resolve is to go to bed on time, eat properly, and give my body every possible advantage in order that I might continue to do service for the King.
- I am naturally impatient. I will try to take one day at a time.
- I will separate worries from concerns. I need to be concerned, but I must not worry!
- I will live within my budget, avoid credit cards, and trust God for my needs.
- I will carry my Bible, or a good book, to read when I am delayed, or whenever occasion affords.
- I will try to see the funny side of every adverse situation, realizing that if I can’t laugh throughout the year, I may not live throughout the year.
- I am resolved not to give up when the going gets rough, aware of the fact that “if God be for us, who can be against us.”
-Endquote
I can tell you that he did keep his resolutions that year! I watched him continue on under unbelievable odds. The doctor said his heart was too weak to last more than a few months back in 1995. He preached on his 100th birthday! Why? It was because he trusted in His God to give him the strength to go on and be a blessing. He loved God with all his heart. His humor was awesome. He became patient and took one thing at a time. He learned how to operate the computer at age 90! I believe his secret was his love for his God and for his fellow man.
I think one secret to having a Happy New Year is found in Philippians 3:13-15 where Paul tells us to take the past and put it behind us and to reach for the things God has in store for us with eager open hands.
I LOOK NOT BACK
By Annie Johnson Flint
I look not back; God knows the fruitless efforts,
The wasted hours, the sinning, the regrets
I leave them all with Him who blots the record,
And graciously forgives, and then forgets.
I look not forward; God sees all the future,
The road that short or long, will lead me home.
And He will face with me its every trial,
And bear for me the burdens that may come.
I look not round me; then would fears assail me,
So wild the tumult of earth’s restless seas,
So dark the world, so filled with woe and evil,
So vain the hope of comfort and of ease.
I look not inward; that would make me wretched;
For I have naught on which to stay my trust.
Nothing I see save failures and shortcomings,
And weak endeavors, crumbling into dust.
But I look up – into the face of Jesus,
For there my heart can rest, my fears are stilled;
And there is joy, and love, and light for darkness,
And perfect peace, and every hope fulfilled.
When we put things behind us and look forward to what Jesus has for us, we find a brand new beginning. One of the things I love about New Year’s Day is the illustration of what God has for His children. We mess up. We go to God and He forgives us and cleanses us. Then He gives us a brand new start! New Year’s Day is for me an example of God’s Brand New beginning. “Putting those things behind, I press toward the mark of the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus.” May this year be a new beginning for all of us!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
