Sweet Endings and New Beginnings

These winter holidays have been truly wonderful - it was with no small amount of regret that I bid the last of my friends goodbye and saw it all come to an end. It was a joyous time of meeting up with friends, both new and old. New York at Christmas, though thronging with tourists, is an endless treasure chest of fun. We watched Wynton Marsalis and his band rip up the stage with some festive, red-hot stomping jazz at Lincoln Centre. We also sat in, and attempted to join in (with 2000 other people), the annual Handel's Messiah sing-in - most of the time I just sat there in awe, letting the beautiful choral singing wash over me.

The great thing about having friends visit is that you can unabashedly go do all the touristy things that "real New Yorkers" (something that we sometimes aspire to be) don't ever do. Taking pictures in Central Park, going to the UN, going on the CNN tour, watching the sun set atop the Empire State building (after watching King Kong no less), hitting all the museums and art galleries (MoMA was especially fun - they had a Pixar exhibition), taking the harbour cruise (and nearly freezing to death in the process), going to see the big Christmas tree at Rockefeller Centre... And of course, who could forget the transit strike? I don't think I've ever walked that much in my life. We walked over 50 blocks to get to Lincoln Centre, and even further to go ice-skating in the Park. It was definitely worth it, but thank God the strike didn't last for long. It was amazing that we even managed to make it to Boston (many thanks to a kind friend), in our bid to escape the strike. But of course, the strike ended just after we arrived there.

Kenneth hosted a fantastic Christmas party which saw 25 Singaporeans gather in his apartment for a gourmet feast - lovingly prepared by the man himself and his lovely assistants. We contributed mulled cider to the kingly spread, and I am happy to say that it went down very well. I have developed a decided liking for the stuff, especially since cider in this country is non-alcoholic. There was also much boisterous carol singing and enthusiastic Taboo-playing.

We heralded in the new year watching fireworks explode over the Statue of Liberty at Battery Park (the clever alternative to squishing with a million other people in Times Square). Then we were off to Mount Poconos in Pennsylvania, for a week of skiing, snow-tubing and snow-fighting. While we were there we also had the opportunity to go on a horse-ride through snow-covered woods, and on our last day there we chanced upon a frozen lake.

As the sun set we walked on water.

In this season of warmth and love, we remember the greatest love of all. We celebrate the birth of He who was born to die so that we all might live. And we remember that everything we have, is truly a blessing. Most of all, we remember the ultimate gift of love, bought at infinite price, bestowed upon the deeply undeserving.

I think that it is so apt that Christmas segueways into the New Year. Why do people celebrate the New Year? I think that we all want second chances and new beginnings. Reinvention and rebirth. Bridging the chasm between the ideal and the reality. Yearning to be so much more. For in the midst of all this abundance there is so much want. And in the midst of all this laughter there are so many tears.

The last night we spent together we watched Rent. I love that musical - the music is fantastic. And it is true that everything (here and now, anyway) is rent. This is all fleeting, and nothing here lasts forever. No day but today. Right?

For all the soaring harmony and uplifting voices, I walked out of the musical a little heavy hearted. The couples in the musical sing of love with such conviction, but conclude that it will all pass away. But there is a forever to be had. And it is no mere coincidence that we often speak of love in the language of eternity (I will always love you). Because God came to earth as a little baby, living the life we should have lived, and dying the death that we should have died, so that we can have forever in Him. And this is the transforming love that gives new life. This is our second chance. And this is our new beginning.

Happy New Year everyone.

Mount Poconos, Pennsylvania

Remembering You

Steven Curtis Chapman

I found You in the most unlikely way

But really it was You who found me

And I found myself in the gifts that You gave

You gave me so much and I

I wish You could stay

but I'll, I'll wait for the day

And I watch as the cold winter melts into spring

And I'll be remembering You

Oh and I'll smell the flowers and hear the birds sing

and I'll be remembering You, I'll be remembering You

From the first moment when I heard Your name

Something in my heart came alive

You showed me love and no words could explain

A love with the power to

Open the door

To a world I was made for

And I watch as the cold winter melts into spring

And I'll be remembering You

Oh and I'll smell the flowers and hear the birds sing

and I'll be remembering

The dark night, the hard fight

The long climb up the hill knowing the cost

The brave death, the last breathe

The silence whispering all hope was lost

The thunder, the wonder

A power that brings the dead back to life

I wish You could stay

But I'll wait for the day

And though You've gone away

You'll come back

And I watch as the cold winter melts into spring

And I'll be remembering You

Oh and I'll smell the flowers and hear the birds sing

and I'll be remembering You, I'll be remembering You

And I'll watch as the sun fills a sky that was dark

And I'll be remembering You

And I'll think of the way that

You fill up my heart

And I'll be remembering You

I'll be remembering You

I'll be remembering You

I'll be remembering You

I'll be remembering You

from Music Inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia