I’ve told you in past weeks about how I’m striving to live only in the present instead of worrying about the future.

That effort has helped me turn worry into joy.

What I’ve learned and relearned is that the best way to build joy into every day is to truly live the day.

I’m trying to break my recently acquired bad habit of worrying about something in the future.

I read a suggestion that said if you’re worried about something in the future, sit down and think about it. Concentrate as hard and as long as you can.

Then ask yourself did you change anything about the situation by worrying?

It becomes obvious what a waste of time that is.

Also, by worrying about something in the future what we’re really doing is wasting the one thing we can control - the present.

The present is our gift. It’s a fleeting gift and the only way to make the most of it is to fight the trap of thinking about the past, planning for the future, or worrying about what may never happen.

I can truly live in the present moment, consciously inhaling the sights and feel of the day. I can do that most easily first thing in the morning on what I call my gratitude walk.

But even then my mind slips away from the present moment. I have to keep herding it back again.

Living in the moment is a lot harder than it sounds.

I read that the only ones that can stay in the present at all times are children.

Kids think about what they are doing, not about the past and certainly not about the future.

Youngsters truly live the day at hand.

I find it easier to rein myself into living the moment at hand when I practice gratitude.

But still, my monkey brain keeps fighting me, wanting to go all over the place. And where it wants to go is often not the moment at hand.

It’s fine with me when my mind slips into thinking about those who have graced my path in life. I am grateful for each and every one who has touched my life.

I might not see them again but it warms my heart when I think of them.

But often my mind is consumed with worry about my present homeless situation.

I recognize that worrying about it will not bring me one step closer to a solution.

To counter that tendency to worry I make sure I include time each day for what I call “good reading.” Sometimes it’s the words of experts. Sometimes it’s Scripture or faith-based reading.

And sometimes it’s something that comes out of the blue that washes over me in a meaningful way.

That happened last week when I turned on the TV for 20 minutes before I turned in for the night.

I never switched the channel looking for something to watch because what I needed to hear most was right there on my TV in the presence of Paul Young, author of “The Shack.”

Unbelievably, he was talking about living the day, just the day at hand.

“In the present there is the fullness of joy, a joy that is independent of circumstances,” he said.

I was mesmerized by his talk about learning to live inside the gift of the day at hand.

How, I wondered, did he happen to be on my television in the 20 minutes I had before bedtime, talking about the very thing on my heart.

Maybe it was happenstance or maybe it was what we call a “God Wink.”

But whatever the cause, it was what I needed to hear.

Many years ago when I read his bestselling book, “The Shack,” I thought it was worthwhile but it didn’t change my life.

The story about the abduction and murder of a small child was painful to read.

When I finished the book there was little in it that stayed with me except one thing - the need to forgive even an evil perpetrator, not for his sake but for ours.

“The Shack” is an incredible story with so many insights into pain and loss. It beautifully highlights the loving nature of God.

One of the bestselling books of all time, the The 2007 book continues to attract followers, many of whom say it changed their life.

It is the author’s follow up series of talks called Restoring the Shack that is greatly influencing my life. It’s one more tool that’s helping me turn worry into joy.

He talks about what he calls “future tripping,” missing the present because we’re caught up in worries about the future. That certainly speaks to me in a meaningful way.

After I watched one part of the series I wanted more. I find it’s a life-enhancing way to wind down each night.

They say when the student is ready, the teacher comes.

I’m the student still learning. I don’t think we ever stop learning until we are no longer here.

Then, who knows? That might be when we learn the most.

Contact Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net