Woody had lived a long full life. She was just a few weeks shy of her hundredth birthday when she passed from this world to be with her Savior. As I was preparing for her funeral, I thumbed through her Bible. There, on a Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog piece of notepaper was the following verse:

My life has been all blunders
And oh, how I have yearned
To live one life for practice
And one when I have learned.

    That was Woody! She was what we call in Texas, a “Real Pistol!” She was short, sweet, bright, passionate, and occasionally very feisty. I’m not sure about the source of her verse. The lines are familiar to me, but I can’t quite place their origin. I do know, however, their greatest embodiment is Woody!

    Woody began attending the church where I preach. She came with her son and daughter-in-law. She called one day and asked that I would come study the Bible with her. She said that she and Bill, her husband, had been doing some Bible study and wanted me to visit with them about being baptized.

... they wanted to open their hearts to Jesus in a fresh way and have a new start.

    It wasn’t really much of a study. They had been working on this for some time. They knew the Scriptures and they wanted to open their hearts to Jesus in a fresh way and have a new start. They were tired of living their practice life and wanted to live a new one now that they had learned!

    What made their desire so special was their age. Bill and Woody were in their middle eighties. A fresh start in the eighth decade of life. Isn’t that incredibly wonderful!

    So you see, with Miss Piggy and Kermit smiling back at me, I look with joyful remembrance at Woody’s hand-written verse and smile because I know that it wasn’t just a wish, it was a reality. Woody’s wish...

My life has been all blunders
And oh, how I have yearned,
To live one life for practice,
And one when I have learned.

...is answered by God’s promise!

If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: Everything old has passed away; See, everything has become new! 2 Cor 5:17

    I don’t know your age and I don’t know your journey. But, if Woody’s verse rings true in your heart, why not do what she did? After all, you’re never too old to be given a whole new world in Christ and a fresh start on life!

Title: "When I Have Learned"
Author: Phil Ware
Publication Date: August 27, 2001

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