I have a tendency to miss the blessings of life  because I don't live in the present.

     I spend too much time in the past.  There are so many experiences, both good and bad, to go  over again.  I find myself regretting the bad things I did, and also the good things I didn't do.  I guess that's normal.  Most of us would like to have another shot at some of the experiences of yesterday to see if we could do better.  I also find myself lingering over the good times, and there were a lot of those.  I guess that's normal also.  Remembering the good times gives us a warm, comfortable feeling.

     I spend too much time in the future. I know that is something young people do, but older folks do it too.  We once daydreamed about the time when we would grow up, or get out of school, or go away on our own.  Now we dream of the time when we will be financially independent, or the children are grown, or we are retired, etc.  We worry a lot about these things, expending much energy building bridges over streams we may never have to cross.

     I spend too little time in the present.  Between lingering over the past and longing for the future, there is little time left for the present.  But the present is the only real time we have.  What we do with it is extremely important.  We can miss the opportunities and the experiences of today by looking over our shoulders at the past or by craning our necks to see the future.

     There is a verse of Scripture that the Lord constantly calls to my mind to help me with this problem.  It is Psalm 118:24, "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."

     I don't suggest we should live today as if there had been no yesterday.  There was.  And we are partially products of that yesterday.  Nor do I suggest we should live today as if there will be no tomorrow.  There may not be, but there probably will be.  We need to prepare for it.

     We should learn from the past.  We should lean toward the future. But we must live in the present, rejoicing in the opportunities and experiences of this day as a gift from God.  Only then will our yesterdays be filled with pleasant memories, and our tomorrows with visions of hope.