Wishing for the Past

2 "Oh that I were as in months gone by, As in the days when God watched over me; 3 When His lamp shone over my head, And by His light I walked through darkness; 4 As I was in the prime of my days, When the friendship of God was over my tent;" Job 29 Sometimes we all wish that things could be as they were in the past. Some people say that life was simpler. Some people say that they had fewer problems. Some people have made bad choices and now they need to live with those choices. No matter where we are now, there are probably some things in the past that are better than they are now. However, dwelling on these things does very little good. We can't bring the past back by wishing. We can't undo the wrong choices we made. But, there's hope. If we look forward and plan for the future, we can often improve our lot. We can make intentional decisions to simplify our lives. We can plan ahead to avoid problems like the ones we are facing now. We can begin making better choices from now on. There are many things in life that we cannot change. Really we can only change ourselves, and changing our response to the things around us can make a world of difference. Lord, help me not to pine for the past. Help me to appreciate Your blessings now and in the past. Help me to learn lessons from the past and apply them to my life now. Help me to have a forward look. Help me to live with a long-range view in mind. Help me to keep eternity in view even when things in the here and now loom so large.