When I Was Young

When I was young, I thought I knew so much about this and that, him and her, and they and them. I knew where I wanted to go, what I wanted, why I wanted it, and when I wanted it; I saw pain and peril, poverty and ill gotten gain, doom and gloom, greed and bad seed. I wish I had known you when I was young. When I was young, it was not my idea, but as a young child I was required to work too much, too hard, too long. I rested far less than I should have. My mentors were few, my money was short, my mountains were high, my mission was clear, and my mind was made up. I looked for more knowledge; longed for more time, and hungered for more of God. I reached out to build the right relationships with all the right people, in all the right places. I listened a lot, to learn more about things I did not understand; and I laughed far less than I should have. I spoke and taught a lot when I started preaching at a very young age. I saw and heard a lot. You seem to be the type of person I wish I had known when I was young. When I was young, I wanted to touch all the bases with everybody to learn about everything all the time, here and there and everywhere. Wish I had known you when I was young. When I was young, I wanted to run and rush from place to place, to gain an audience, and take away other people‘s pain, and share from face to face, matters of facts and faith and God, with the human race. Wish I had known you when I was young. Perhaps I could have learned a lot more about people from you. When I was young, I prayed and sought, served and strove, and sat with saints, to listen for wisdom, to learn how to live, as the Master taught. When I was young, my spirit paced back and forth, to find my place, to discover my purpose, to occupy my space, to see a God that’s real, to discover where my life was suppose to fit. Perhaps someone like you could have open my eyes and ears about certain things. Wish I had known you when I was young. When I was young, I found peace and power, love to care, courage to share, grace to help, hope to cope, faith to go forward, and forgiveness from God. It appears I was on the right path. I wish I'd known you when I was young. It would be interesting to know how my life might have been different; but I guess we'll never know. Written8/1/07;PS82115;Edited for Contest entry 111917, Wish I knew You When I Was Young, Rodeheaver, 5P