Where do YOU live?
By: Maxine M.

Some people love the countryside, while others in a big city want to be free
Many prefer an arid desert, others the mountains…enjoy giant cactus or stately pine tree
From the arctic to the tropics, God’s beautiful creation is there for all to see

East coast, west coast, every continent is open for habitation to some degree
It’s good we are a diverse people…to each their own we all agree
And ALL people everywhere desire to live where they can live free

But the ONE place it’s not feasible to live is in the PAST
It’s unsuitable to sustain a healthy lifestyle…the exuberance of yesterday doesn’t last
For yesterday is UNCHANGEABLE… “if onlys” “should haves” bring depression into the forecast

Regret or remorse over things that could have been prevented at the time
Or anger, bitterness, hostility…the result of being an innocent victim of crime
Making “yesterday” a wilely pit, out of which we desperately need to climb

Yet so many people WISH they could return to days gone by
FORGETTING even those “Good ol’ Days” had stress levels that were high
Perhaps fear of the future keeps them looking back…too scared to give life a second try

But if we constantly scan the rear-view mirror, the exciting road ahead will be missed
For lives move in a constant FORWARD motion…even when we resist
Now, we can TEMPORARILY go back & enjoy good memories that exist

Relish the emotions of a wedding day or the birth of a child
Ready with camera in hand to capture faltering steps or the 1st time they smiled
Holiday celebrations, personal triumphs…all the good days memory has compiled

But GOOD memories or Bad, the past IS past…our attempt to LIVE there is in vain
That wonderful Thanksgiving feast…by next week will no longer sustain
Yesterday’s beautiful sunset, by today may bring a storm with pouring rain

For an athlete, there’s NO hope of winning yesterdays game that was lost
Because HOPE deals in what TODAY will bring & God’s storehouse of hope we can never exhaust
By His Son’s death & resurrection, Hope can be renewed daily…Satan’s plan of our despair double-crossed

So, are you making the most you can of TODAY? Not dwelling in yesterday’s woe?
Opportunities not taken today may never come again…we just don’t know
Because TOMMORROW is a GIFT only our Creator can bestow

Now the question IS are you living in the “Glorious Hope” that today may be THE DAY?
The day our Lord & Saviour comes for His OWN…to rapture them away
Gathering His true followers, saving them from the fierce judgment soon under way

So instead of living in the past, LEARN from its MISTAKES…be enlightened by the lessons it taught
Take hope & comfort from the many blessings that “yesterday” brought
REJOICE in the wonderful future that GRACE has wrought