For so long, Lord, much too long,
we’ve nursed our grudges and resentments,
we’ve carried backpacks filled with anger,
weighing heavy on our shoulders,
keeping us apart from family, near and far,
we’ve nursed our grudges and resentments,
we’ve carried backpacks filled with anger,
weighing heavy on our shoulders,
keeping us apart from family, near and far,
from neighbors, colleagues, classmates
– and even from old friends…
And now, just a few days from a new year,
we say we want a fresh start,
a clean slate, a new beginning
– but do we?
Do we really want to turn our hearts around?
Are we willing, are we resolved,
to do what we must do to begin afresh, anew?
Or will we be content, again,
to carry last year’s burdens
right through New Year’s Eve
and into 2023?
Will we cling, will we hold fast,
as we sing our Auld Lang Syne,
to old grudges and resentments?
Will we inaugurate another year
in shadows of mistrust,
with chips upon our shoulders,
our hearts hard and burdened
with the weight of petty pride?
What will we resolve, Lord?
What selfish burdens will we let go?
What price are we prepared to pay
to turn our hearts around?
Do we want a new beginning?
If we haven’t the time to mend all this
before the New Year’s clock strikes midnight,
then help us resolve in 2023
to be the first to take the steps
toward making peace
where peace has long been wanting…
Help each of us move forward
to forgive the ones who’ve hurt us
and to seek and pray forgiveness
of those whom we’ve offended…
Give each of us the honesty, the guts,
to acknowledge all the ways
we’ve been wrong,
hasty in judgment,
quick to lash out,
unkind and hostile,
cold and unfriendly,
conceited and proud,
too busy to notice, to care,
to reach out and to heal,
to mend, to repair and restore
what we’ve broken
and those we’ve treated poorly…
Help us, in the new year ahead,
to listen for your voice,
to hear your word,
to follow where you lead,
to do what is good,
to love what is just
and to walk humbly by your side…
We need your help in all of this
because up until now, Lord, sadly,
we’ve not managed to do this on our own…
In your mercy, Lord:
make all things new
within us, among us, around us
and through our words and deeds
in the new year just ahead…
