Bring it On

I came across a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892) recently that I had not read before, entitled The Death of the Old Year, thought to have been a precursor to his lengthy In Memoriam.

Full knee-deep lies the winter snow,
And the winter winds are wearily sighing:
Toll ye the church bell sad and slow,
And tread softly and speak low,
For the old year lies a-dying.

Tennyson goes on for several stanzas to grieve the loss of the past year, begging it to stay with all the gifts it has given him and fearful that those gifts will be taken away in the new year. But the old year is over, and Tennyson must resign himself to face what is about to come:

Step from the corpse, and let him in
That standeth there alone,
And waiteth at the door.
There's a new foot on the floor, my friend,
And a new face at the door, my friend,
A new face at the door.

For Hardy and me the past year has had its challenges and we are glad it's behind us, although we are not convinced that things will change, just because there is a different date on the calendar! But we celebrate the beginning of a new year because we have hope.

We know another spring is coming and we hope to meet it and greet it.

We know that two dear friends have recently made a commitment to each other after losing their spouse and we will celebrate this joyful union in spring.

We know that whatever comes our way, the Spirit of God will accompany us and light our way, whether it is new beginnings or endings.

So in the midst of winter, we celebrate the new year that is to come! 

Bring it on!

Visiting with friends and sharing our stories

How have you celebrated the passing of the old year and the coming of the new one?