By Lois Hewitt

I haven’t had much to say lately. No inspiration has come my way. Then last night I had a dream about a road we drove on during our long journey to find a new life.

The road is a long two-lane blacktop in the southwest, maybe Arizona. When we drove it seemed to go on forever.

In the dream I am driving on this road and I look in the rearview mirror. Where I have been looks small and far away. I remember where I had been and the experience but it wasn’t my main focus.

The road ahead was pretty straightforward but I could never be sure what I would encounter way up and I knew eventually the road would stop being straight and I would experience twists and turns but it wasn’t my main focus.

The part I needed to concentrate on was where I was in that moment. The past only offered experiences already had. The future was totally unsure. But where I was in the moment was the priority.

In the moment I had choices. I could leave the road and get lost in the desert. I could stop and not make any progress. Or I could stay on the road and remember the past, look forward to the future and live in the lane I was in.

I have lived looking in the rearview mirror. That is a troubling way to live. So many things done wrong, so many missed opportunities and so many loved ones that are so very missed.

I have lived waiting for that elusive better time to come. The corner you turn and everything changes. I have spent years waiting and waiting for the future to become the present. But it never quite turns out how I thought it would.

Now I live in the moment I am in. I remember lessons from the past and have anticipation for things to come. But I realize now that I can’t do anything about either one of those. But I do have my hands on the wheel right now. So I pray for guidance and try not to go off the road. I am learning to enjoy the scenery right now. Because soon it will be part of my past.

Right now, my friend, is all we have. Nothing we can do can change the past and nothing we can do can cement the future. Right now is our focus. It may be good or it may not be, but we will all eventually drive through it into a new right now. 

Hang on to faith, it will give you strength. Hang on to grace, it will ease your pain.  Hang on to God, He will be faithful to you, He promises. Life is a journey, good and bad.  Enjoy the smooth roads and endure the bumps. God is with you always!