It is said that Will Rogers once said, “Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today.” While I think it’s probably accurate that Mr. Rogers originated this quote, I’m not 100%, so don’t skewer me if that happens to be wrong. In any event, the point is the quote, not the one who said it.

I saw this quote on a church billboard sign this evening. It hit me like a ton of bricks. How much and how often do we let the things that have already come and gone determine what we will do today…tomorrow…next week. Yes, I know that we have memories in part so we can learn from our experiences. Touch a hot stove once and you won’t touch it again. That’s experience. But sometimes we go way overboard and don’t come within 50 feet of a hot stove just because we got burned on one long, long ago. That kind of “learning” is not healthy, yet it pervades the psyches of many of us.

What do we have to do to let go? What does it take for us to look ahead instead of behind? How can we possibly put into practice what the great Apostle Paul said about “Forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal of the prize (Phil. 3:13)?”

I don’t think this is an easy, 1-2-3 thing. I’ve struggled with this all my life, and continue to struggle with it to this day. I am miserable, at times, in my memories and how they affect what I do today. Maybe I can justify my apprehensions by saying that I’ve been stung before in both work and in relationships, and I’m just being careful. But I have a feeling that is just a cop-out and there’s something else going on here that isn’t healthy.

One of our ministers a few days ago said in class (Thanks for the plug, Scott.) that he enjoyed my blog in part because it was so positive. One reason why is that I have found that writing positive things helps with this very problem. That isn’t enough, however. There’s something else at work here…something I’m missing.

“Be not dismayed, whate’er betide; God will take care of you. Beneath His wings of love abide; God will take care of you.” Is that it? Is that what I’m missing? Do I practice what I preach, or do I just mouth the words? Is my life real, or is it Memorex (apologies to those who aren’t old enough to remember this ad quote.)? Do I have a relationship with God, or am I like Adam in the picture? At this point, I just don’t know.