The Song of 2023

One of my favorite things about the church I go to is the fact that every Sunday (and days in between), when we gather for worship, we sing the Psalms. If you've never sung the Psalms, I highly encourage you to, but even still, I cannot help reflecting on certain passages throughout. And something I've learned is that there is a beauty in pain.

I think I am late to this idea of reflecting on 2023 — for really, 2023 ended almost a week ago, and shouldn't I continue on with the rest of the world and move on to 2024?

As 2024 begins, and continues, a part of me (a small part of me) longs to continue in the old year. The familiar, the comfortable ... Even if it hurt, it was pain I knew. But an even greater part of me longs to forget, to leave 2023 behind, to try to never consider those days at all. But, perhaps neither are the correct answers. There is a certain blessing that comes with the past, even if we don't quite love every single bit of it. And of course, there was also sweet blessing that came with 2023, even though it did come with heartache and pain.

One of my friends has a habit of choosing a word at the beginning of a year. I can't quite remember if I did this at the end of 2022 for 2023; but nonetheless I cannot remember what word I chose.

Perhaps, it would be best to do something different.

And so I will choose a song for 2023.

It would be a dreadfully difficult — impossible, perhaps? — task to find a song to sum up everything that happened last year. And so I chose one song that matched the hardest and yet best times I had last year.

Last year, I had to say goodbye to some of my very best friends. After I had told them my tearful goodbye, I stood outside in the pouring rain. It was close to dusk, and around me the forest had come alive, green for the first time in what felt like centuries. As water streamed down around me, the only song that came to me was Nobody Knows, by the Lumineers.

Nobody knows how to say goodbye

It seems so easy 'til you try

Then the moments passed you by

Nobody knows how to say goodbye

...

Love is deep as the road is long

It moves my feet to carry on

Beats my heart when you are gone

Love is deep as the road is long

Nobody knows how the story ends

Live the day, do what you can

This is only where it begins

Nobody knows how the story ends

Nobody knows how the story ends

It struck me, as I stood there, that we do not know what is in store for us. We do not know the future, and it doesn't seem likely that the future will ever be certain to us, until we are in it.

We cannot say what will happen in the future, not at all.

We don't know. But, my friends, as I stood there in the rain, I realized something, and I want to share this with you (and understand it myself).

We do not know.

But God knows.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." - Jeremiah 29:11

As 2024 begins, keep that in mind. Remember this verse. We do not know what the future holds. But God does. And He is good.