A few weeks ago, I had a true, whirlwind of a weekend! My son graduated from Medical school and relatives were in town. Such fun. I learned something significant over that weekend. Don’t miss out on today.  Sounds so simple but I think sometimes we are either caught up in past or looking towards the future when all the Lord really promises us is today. His words to us were to seek Him daily. Pay attention to where He is at work. Pay attention to the people to whom He sends you or to the circumstances as they are unfolding.

At my son’s graduation, I was so busy taking a picture of his receiving his diploma, that I missed that special moment. Behind the lens of a camera, I was distracted and only seeing this precious time through a filter.

Over that weekend the second thing I was realizing is that I must not second guess the future or over think the past. Circumstances were such that my mind kept going there. And to that point…

I was driving down the highway thrilled that after 40 years of driving I have finally learned to use my rear view mirrors. Crazy but true. I also learned as I was preparing for a cycling trip, that I have two sets of gears- one on the right side of the handlebars and one on the left. I began thinking about both of these new learned skill sets and the Lord spoke into my heart:

Don’t look in the rearview mirror. And… use all of the gears that I have given you daily to get up the hill.

Sounds like God’s voice right? I pretty much ignored it thinking it was just my own thoughts. But throughout the day those words/thoughts kept coming back to me. Could it have been God’s voice and if so what in the world was He saying?

As the day progressed, I recognized that I was spending a lot of time looking at past regrets; things I should have done or things I wish that I had not done. I had been doing that lately. I had been forgiven and not moved on. God whispered in my heart not to look back anymore. And then the second part:

And use all of the gears I have given you. 

As I was cycling, practicing my newly learned skill of using both sets of gears, I realized how much easier it was to climb the hills (mind you, one of the only hills in Charleston is the Ravenel Bridge.). I began to see that the Lord was teaching me to not look back and to use the power He gives me to live fully into each day. We are powerless in the yesterdays of life, and we are powerless in our future. The Lord holds those for us. He gives us the power to seek and love Him daily with our whole heart, mind and soul enabling us to navigate our days with strength and courage.

So friends, in summary, take a moment and give the Lord your yesterdays and your future. Ask Him to forgive you for the past things you regret and ask Him to help you to enjoy the day you are living now. True joy is found in the midst of our daily lives knowing that God is here with us and He is in control.