{"id":2920,"date":"2013-04-21T20:28:34","date_gmt":"2013-04-22T02:28:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/?p=2920"},"modified":"2013-04-21T20:28:54","modified_gmt":"2013-04-22T02:28:54","slug":"the-wisdom-of-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/the-wisdom-of-years\/","title":{"rendered":"The Wisdom of Years"},"content":{"rendered":"

A man, whom I have tremendous respect for, shared a poem he wrote himself over the course of many years of his life, starting when he was 68 years old and finishing it at the age of 88.\u00a0 It tells a fantastic message of why we should embrace the process of growing older, as growing older is what brings us wisdom in our life.<\/p>\n

THE THINGS I KNOW<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I had a thought the other night,<\/address>\n
A thought profound and deep.<\/address>\n
It came when I was too worn down,<\/address>\n
Too tired to go to sleep.<\/address>\n
\u00a0<\/address>\n
I\u2019d had a very busy day<\/address>\n
And pondered on my fate.<\/address>\n
The thought was this:<\/address>\n
When I was young, I wasn\u2019t 68!<\/address>\n
\u00a0<\/address>\n
I could walk without a limp;<\/address>\n
I had no shoulder pain.<\/address>\n
I could read a line through twice<\/address>\n
And quote it back again.<\/address>\n
\u00a0<\/address>\n
I could work for endless hours<\/address>\n
And hardly stop to breathe.<\/address>\n
And things that now I cannot do<\/address>\n
I mastered then with ease.<\/address>\n
\u00a0<\/address>\n
If I could now turn back the years,<\/address>\n
If that were mine to choose,<\/address>\n
I would not barter age for youth,<\/address>\n
I\u2019d have too much to lose.<\/address>\n
\u00a0<\/address>\n
I am quite content to move ahead,<\/address>\n
To yield my youth, however grand.<\/address>\n
The thing I\u2019d lose if I went back<\/address>\n
Is what I understand.<\/address>\n
\u00a0<\/address>\n
Ten years later, I decided to add a few more lines to that poem:<\/address>\n
\u00a0<\/address>\n
Ten years have flown to who knows where<\/address>\n
And with them much of pain.<\/address>\n
A metal hip erased my limp;<\/address>\n
I walk quite straight again.<\/address>\n
\u00a0<\/address>\n
Another plate holds neck bones fast\u2014<\/address>\n
A wonderful creation!<\/address>\n
It backed my polio away;<\/address>\n
I\u2019ve joined the stiff-necked generation.<\/address>\n
\u00a0<\/address>\n
The signs of aging can be seen.<\/address>\n
Those things will not get better.<\/address>\n
The only thing that grows in strength<\/address>\n
With me is my forgetter.<\/address>\n
\u00a0<\/address>\n
You ask, \u201cDo I remember you?\u201d<\/address>\n
Of course, you\u2019re much the same.<\/address>\n
Now don\u2019t go getting all upset<\/address>\n
If I can\u2019t recall your name.<\/address>\n
\u00a0<\/address>\n
I would agree I\u2019ve learned some things<\/address>\n
I did not want to know,<\/address>\n
But age has brought those precious truths<\/address>\n
That make the spirit grow.<\/address>\n
\u00a0<\/address>\n
Of all the blessings that have come,<\/address>\n
The best thing in my life<\/address>\n
Is the companionship and comfort<\/address>\n
I get from my dear wife.<\/address>\n
\u00a0<\/address>\n
Our children all have married well,<\/address>\n
With families of their own,<\/address>\n
With children and grandchildren,<\/address>\n
How soon they all have grown.<\/address>\n
\u00a0<\/address>\n
I have not changed my mind one bit<\/address>\n
About regaining youth.<\/address>\n
We\u2019re meant to age, for with it<\/address>\n
Comes a knowledge of the truth.<\/address>\n
\u00a0<\/address>\n
You ask, \u201cWhat will the future bring?<\/address>\n
Just what will be my fate?\u201d<\/address>\n
I\u2019ll go along and not complain.<\/address>\n
Ask when I\u2019m 88!<\/address>\n
\u00a0<\/address>\n
And last year I added these lines:<\/address>\n
\u00a0<\/address>\n
And now you see I\u2019m 88.<\/address>\n
The years have flown so fast.<\/address>\n
I walked, I limped, I held a cane,<\/address>\n
And now I ride at last.<\/address>\n
\u00a0<\/address>\n
I take a nap now and again,<\/address>\n
But priesthood power remains.<\/address>\n
For all the physical things I lack<\/address>\n
There are great spiritual gains.<\/address>\n
\u00a0<\/address>\n
I have traveled the world a million miles<\/address>\n
And another million too.<\/address>\n
And with the help of satellites,<\/address>\n
My journeys are not through.<\/address>\n
\u00a0<\/address>\n
I now can say with all certainty<\/address>\n
That I know and love the Lord.<\/address>\n
I can testify with them of old<\/address>\n
As I preach His holy word.<\/address>\n
\u00a0<\/address>\n
I know what He felt in Gethsemane<\/address>\n
Is too much to comprehend.<\/address>\n
I know He did it all for us;<\/address>\n
We have no greater Friend.<\/address>\n
\u00a0<\/address>\n
I know that He will come anew<\/address>\n
With power and in glory.<\/address>\n
I know I will see Him once again<\/address>\n
At the end of my life\u2019s story.<\/address>\n
\u00a0<\/address>\n
I\u2019ll kneel before His wounded feet;<\/address>\n
I\u2019ll feel His Spirit glow.<\/address>\n
My whispering, quivering voice will say,<\/address>\n
\u201cMy Lord, my God, I know.\u201d<\/address>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 -Boyd K. Packer<\/p>\n

I love the life lessons we can take away from his poem.\u00a0 It reminds me to be grateful for the years of wisdom I have gained.\u00a0 It reminds me that all the book learning and life experience cannot take the place of spiritual learning that we gain by exercising faith in our believes.\u00a0 It also helps remind me that every day of my life I should be growing closer to God by living my life in a way I know that He would be proud of.\u00a0\u00a0 I believe that trying to live our lives like that, is the best way to help each of us get to the point where we can say \u201cI know\u201d for ourselves.<\/p>\n

I have a feeling the week ahead will be a fabulous one.\u00a0 Cherish each day and the wisdom and experience it gives you.\u00a0 You will be a wiser person by the end of this week so embrace that!<\/p>\n

~Amy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A man, whom I have tremendous respect for, shared a poem he wrote himself over the course of many years of his life, starting when he was 68 years old and finishing it at the age of 88.\u00a0 It tells a fantastic message of why we should embrace the process of growing older, as growing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":89,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[168,500,46,251,60,63,870,872,871,83,51,7,29,244,65,869,55,232,867,35,868,78,54,866],"class_list":["post-2920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-adversity","tag-appreciation","tag-attitude","tag-balance","tag-beautiful","tag-blessings","tag-boyd-k-packer","tag-cherish","tag-exercise-faith","tag-experience","tag-family","tag-future","tag-god","tag-grateful","tag-gratitude","tag-growing-older","tag-happiness","tag-lessons","tag-life-lessons","tag-love","tag-older","tag-time","tag-time-management","tag-wisdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2920"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2920\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2927,"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2920\/revisions\/2927"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amyreesanderson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}