Happy New Year

This is a poem that I was introduced to earlier this year, and I decided that it was perfect for a New Year's message. May you all have a wonderful new year!

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more,
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes,
But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease,
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,

Ring in the Christ that is to be.

Poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1850

Friendship

A Christmas Medley - 25th December

Tired I was; my head would go
Nodding under the mistletoe
(Pale-green, fairy mistletoe),
No footsteps came, no voice, but only,
Just as I sat there, sleepy, lonely,
Stooped in the still and shadowy air
Lips unseen - and kissed me there. 

The doorbell rang.

'Darling, there's someone here to see you!' her Dad called up the stairs. 'I'll show them to the lounge.'

'Coming,' Sam replied, quickly throwing on her clothes and checking herself in the mirror before running down the stairs to the lounge.

She stopped at the doorway, 'Matt!'

Mat smiled nervously, 'Hey. Thought I'd give you a surprise!'

'That you sure did, but ....' words failed her.

'Don't worry. I read your email. It's ok. Quite funny really - and I'm really sorry that you misunderstood me. Sorry that I only drop by now, too, but I wanted to organise something. Friends?' Matt asked.

'Definitely.'

This is what Christmas is about. Gifts. The gift of friendship - above all else - friendship between us and God, as well as between ourselves and our fellow man.

Extract from 'Mistletoe' by Walter de la Mare

Musings

A Christmas Medley - 24th December

Heap on more wood! – the wind is chill;
But let it whistle as it will,
We’ll keep our Christmas merry still.
Each age has deem’d the new-born year
The fittest time for festal cheer:

There. That was the last of her Christmas presents. Now she could finally relax. A shimmer in the corner of her eye made her look towards the windows. It was snowing!

She quickly got up and ran over to the couch by the window. Settling into it, she watched the falling snow outside. It had already settled onto the pathway and the road. Even though she'd seen it many times, the sight of falling snow still fascinated and mesmerised her. Everything always looked so clean ... Until the thaw. That got icy and ....

Has he read it? I wonder if he's read it. Man, I wish he'd reply - or come around, or something. If only I knew. But God said I must have patience ... so I'll wait. If it's to be, then great, if not, then I did apologise.

Extract from 'Marmion' by Sir Walter Scott

Apology

A Christmas Medley - 23rd December

Teach, O teach us , Holy Child,
By Thy Face so meek and mild,
Teach us to resemble Thee,
In Thy Sweet humility!

She knew that it was the right thing to do. She should never have assumed anything. Having looked through his Facebook account she could now see that her conclusion had been utterly wrong. If only she wasn't so impulsive.

But thank God he had allowed her to make the mistake, else she'd never have learnt this lesson. Now if only ....

Sam suspended all further thought, and clicked the mouse button. There. The email was sent. She would now need to wait and see what happened.

Song extract from "See Amid the Winter's Snow"

A Ray of Hope

A Christmas Medley - 22nd December

A ray of hope flickers in the sky
A tiny star lights up way up high ...

'Sam, I really need to talk to you,' it was an out-of-breath Judy. 'When can we meet up?'

'I'll be at home all afternoon. Want to come over?' Sam answered, puzzled.

'No, I'd rather not. Could you meet me at the coffee shop on the corner? It's really important,' Judy asked anxiously.

'Sure, is three o'clock ok?'

'Yup. See you there.' And they hung up.

...................

'It wasn't at all what you assumed. Sam, he'd just bought himself a new part for his computer!' Judy said excitedly.

'Why do I get the sense you want us to be together?' Sam asked, getting frustrated. 'And what do I care about a computer?'

Judy took a deep breath. Then she continued. 'Yes, I do want you to be together. Remember that night skating? I'd never seen either of you as happy as you were that night. Sam, that is who Matt is. He's a gentleman. Alright, a slightly geeky one! But never doubt him, he knows how to treat a lady properly.'

'And what makes you suddenly the expert on Matt? How about me?' Sam questioned her friend.

'Because I'm further away from him than you are, I've been able to get to know him better than you have. And no, us together wouldn't work. Remember, Sam, you hated him till a short while ago ...'

'And I hate him now,' Sam affirmed, but she was beginning to feel that that wasn't quite true.

'Oh Sam. Just think about it, alright?' Judy urged. 'But I hope that you'll trust that I'm telling you the truth, because that is what I am telling you. He still cares deeply for you - and I know that he's been really hurt the last few days.'

Song extract from "When a Child is Born"