An Older Woman Ahead of You
“There is an older woman up there ahead of you
That you ought to know
She looks somewhat like you
She has your eyes, your nose, your chin;
And whether she loves you
or hates you,
respects you or despises you
Whether she is angry or comfortable
Whether she is miserable or happy
Depends on you
For you have made her
She is you grown older.”
Sometime before the new year I was contemplating my life and things that I knew I needed to work on - so many things - where do I start? Many times I have thought at this age and time of my life I would be the faithful, gracious, kind, loving, courageous woman I wanted to become when I copied this poem into my journal while serving my mission . . . and find myself so falling short of where I wanted to be forty years later. I was talking to Heavenly Father about my shortcomings and what I thought I needed to work on~ so many things, it is sometimes overwhelming.
A few weeks later, sitting with some friends, one of them said she had been thinking a lot about being "Gracious" and asked us what we thought that meant. We all chimed in and then the discussion changed. A few weeks after that we were all together again and Paula told us that being gracious was still weighing on her mind and it was something she was working on, then she turned to me and said, "Sandy, I think of you as being someone who is gracious." Well, after I pulled myself up off the floor, I remembered a prayer a few weeks prior to that and realized that Heavenly Father, was answering a prayer, just letting me know that I am at least headed in the right direction, even if I still have a long ways to go . . .
1 comment:
I have to agree with your friend, Paula. You are so very gracious. This is a good word to describe you! I love this post. I, too, think about future me (and past me). And I am so tempted to be overly critical of present me. I was studying in Genesis JUST LAST NIGHT before I read this post from you. I was in chapter 17 where Abraham is commanded to be perfect. In my study guide there is a quote from Joseph Fielding Smith,
"Salvation does not come all at once; we are commanded to be perfect even as our Father in heaven is perfect. It will take us ages to accomplish this end, for there will be greater progress beyond the grave, and it will be there that the faithful will overcome all things, and receive all things, even the fulness of the Father's glory. Here we lay the foundation... here is where we are taught the these simple truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ, in this probationary state, to prepare us for that perfection. It is our duty to be better today than we were yesterday, and better tomorrow than we are today. Why? Because we are on that road, if we are keeping the commandments of the Lord, we are on that road to perfection, and that can only come through obedience and the desire in our hearts to overcome the world."
It is a principal easily understood, but it is so powerful when we allow ourselves to believe it. I don't think you have such a long way to go, by the way, sweet lady! You are a hero to me!
Also, I AM IN LOVE with this picture of you from your mission. Thank you for sharing all this!
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