--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After all the years, after everything…" description: "\"“After all the years, after everything that you'd had to endure, after everything that you'd undertaken, however good or bad, long after you'd given up..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f9/marlene-van-niekerk-34386_hope_after-all-the-years-after-everything-tha_1812699.jpg" --- # After all the years, after everything that you'd had to… ![“After all the years, after everything that you'd had to endure, after everything that you'd undertaken, however good or bad, long after you'd given up all hope, the reward.” quote by Marlene Van Niekerk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f9/marlene-van-niekerk-34386_hope_after-all-the-years-after-everything-tha_1812699.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f9/marlene-van-niekerk-34386_hope_after-all-the-years-after-everything-tha_1812699.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f9/marlene-van-niekerk-34386_hope_after-all-the-years-after-everything-tha_1812699.jpg) > ““After all the years, after everything that you'd had to endure, after everything that you'd undertaken, however good or bad, long after you'd given up all hope, the reward.”” [Marlene Van Niekerk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-van-niekerk/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hope can persist through hardship, and eventual reward may arrive after long perseverance. **In simple terms:** Hope endures; reward follows perseverance. Key Takeaway Persist through hardship for eventual reward. Themes perseverance hope reward resilience Mood hopeful determined Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - long‑term projects - personal recovery - career setbacks - health journeys Key Concepts existentialism psychology literature Questions to Reflect On - What keeps you hopeful during endless struggle? - How do you measure reward beyond tangible outcomes? A Different Perspective Reward may never materialize, leading to disillusionment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Reward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reward/) ## Related quotes > [“Cathy, don't look so defeated. She was only trying to put us down again. 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Life is long enough, and it's been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/it-s-not-that-we-have-a-short-time-to-live-but-that-we-waste-much-of/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“It is not that we have a short space of time, but that we waste much of it. Life is long enough, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/it-is-not-that-we-have-a-short-space-of-time-but-that-we-waste-much/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [Salvation never will come through hope of reward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/salvation-never-will-come-through-hope-of-reward/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [The hope of reward is the solace of labor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/the-hope-of-reward-is-the-solace-of-labor/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [Without hope of reward Provide help to others. Bear suffering alone, And share your pleasures with beggars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akkineni-nagarjuna/without-hope-of-reward-provide-help-to-others-bear-suffering-alone/) [Akkineni Nagarjuna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akkineni-nagarjuna/) > [“It had been so long since she’d given herself permission to just feel without thinking, to act without discussing the consequences. And yeah, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-braemel/it-had-been-so-long-since-she-d-given-herself-permission-to-just-feel/) [Leah Braemel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-braemel/) > [Friendship is not how long we have been together not how much you have given or received. Not how many times we have helped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/friendship-is-not-how-long-we-have-been-together-not-how-much-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Few of the men she saw seemed worth an expenditure of imagination, and it made her smile to think that one of them should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/few-of-the-men-she-saw-seemed-worth-an-expenditure-of-imagination-and/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [Whatever good you would do out of fear of punishment, or hope of reward hereafter, the Atheist would do simply because it is good;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernestine-rose/whatever-good-you-would-do-out-of-fear-of-punishment-or-hope-of/) [Ernestine Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernestine-rose/) > [If you desire one thing for so long, its a given that you will miss other things along the way. Thats how it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berserk/if-you-desire-one-thing-for-so-long-its-a-given-that-you-will-miss/) Berserk > [“Years later she finally realized what he’d been doing by making her wait so long. He’d given her a reason to leave him. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffany-reisz/years-later-she-finally-realized-what-he-d-been-doing-by-making-her/) [Tiffany Reisz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffany-reisz/) > [The highest reward that God gives us for good work is the ability to do better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/the-highest-reward-that-god-gives-us-for-good-work-is-the-ability-to/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) ## More by Marlene Van Niekerk > [Read non-fiction. History, biology, entomology, mineralogy, paleontology. Get a bodyguard and do fieldwork. Find your inner fish. Don't publish too soon. Not before you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-van-niekerk/read-non-fiction-history-biology-entomology-mineralogy-paleontology/) [Marlene van Niekerk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-van-niekerk/) > [“Well, I am something, Ma, you hissed, I am not nothing, I am somebody and I know what I want from life and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-van-niekerk/well-i-am-something-ma-you-hissed-i-am-not-nothing-i-am-somebody-and/) [Marlene Van Niekerk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-van-niekerk/) > [“...a butterfly is like the soul of a person, it dries out in captivity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-van-niekerk/a-butterfly-is-like-the-soul-of-a-person-it-dries-out-in-captivity/) [Marlene Van Niekerk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-van-niekerk/) > [“First smile!! An unseasonal little shower of rain fell here, and a lot of butterflies drowned, so we put them in the sun and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-van-niekerk/first-smile-an-unseasonal-little-shower-of-rain-fell-here-and-a-lot/) [Marlene Van Niekerk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-van-niekerk/) > [Marriage is holy and it's private.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-van-niekerk/marriage-is-holy-and-it-s-private/) [Marlene van Niekerk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-van-niekerk/) > [“And I will close my eyes and prepare myself so that they can unscrew my head and allow the map to slip into my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-van-niekerk/and-i-will-close-my-eyes-and-prepare-myself-so-that-they-can-unscrew/) [Marlene Van Niekerk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-van-niekerk/) > [“In a state of pseudo-death you restore your substance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-van-niekerk/in-a-state-of-pseudo-death-you-restore-your-substance/) [Marlene Van Niekerk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-van-niekerk/) > [Nobody can be so beautiful from the outside and so hollow from inside. Not even in a third-rate novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-van-niekerk/nobody-can-be-so-beautiful-from-the-outside-and-so-hollow-from-inside/) [Marlene van Niekerk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-van-niekerk/) > [“Nature is subtle and complex.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-van-niekerk/nature-is-subtle-and-complex/) [Marlene Van Niekerk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-van-niekerk/) > [We all have to do things in this life that we don't like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-van-niekerk/we-all-have-to-do-things-in-this-life-that-we-don-t-like/) [Marlene van Niekerk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-van-niekerk/) > [“..did i think i was god that i had to lie and take it did i think then i was a mountain or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-van-niekerk/did-i-think-i-was-god-that-i-had-to-lie-and-take-it-did-i-think-then/) [Marlene Van Niekerk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-van-niekerk/) > [“Everything is important. To the smallest insect, even the mouldering tree, the deepest stone in the drift.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-van-niekerk/everything-is-important-to-the-smallest-insect-even-the-mouldering/) [Marlene Van Niekerk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-van-niekerk/) [Explore all 13 Marlene Van Niekerk quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-van-niekerk/) ## More Endure quotes > [So many things beat upon us in a lifetime that simply enduring may seem almost beyond us… But the test a loving God has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/so-many-things-beat-upon-us-in-a-lifetime-that-simply-enduring-may/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/this-is-no-time-for-ease-and-comfort-it-is-time-to-dare-and-endure/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked "What is a hero?" ...My answer was that a hero is someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/when-the-first-superman-movie-came-out-i-was-frequently-asked-what-is/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) James Nayler > [A great read; an exciting, frightening account of organized crime today. But like all important works of nonfiction, it goes further… This book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-ly-hayslip/a-great-read-an-exciting-frightening-account-of-organized-crime-today/) [Le Ly Hayslip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-ly-hayslip/) > [It is easy enough to say that man is immortal simply because he will endure: that when the last ding-dong of doom has clanged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-is-easy-enough-to-say-that-man-is-immortal-simply-because-he-will/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [It is well for a man when he has learned to endure what he cannot change, and to give up with dignity what he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/it-is-well-for-a-man-when-he-has-learned-to-endure-what-he-cannot/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [The art of life is to know how to enjoy a little and to endure very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-art-of-life-is-to-know-how-to-enjoy-a-little-and-to-endure-very/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Life is not a PG feel-good movie. Real life often ends badly. Literature tries to document this reality, while showing us it is still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/life-is-not-a-pg-feel-good-movie-real-life-often-ends-badly/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [It is impossible to build enduring institutions without solid values. For us, the fundamental value is that associated with democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-henrique-cardoso/it-is-impossible-to-build-enduring-institutions-without-solid-values/) [Fernando Henrique Cardoso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-henrique-cardoso/) > [I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/i-will-love-the-light-for-it-shows-me-the-way-yet-i-will-endure-the/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [“This is how they are able to continue and endure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/this-is-how-they-are-able-to-continue-and-endure/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [There are many who say they want to be victorious Christians, but few are willing to endure the discipline necessary to make one a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/there-are-many-who-say-they-want-to-be-victorious-christians-but-few/) [Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/) > [“Whatever befalls us, we will endure it together. I clutch my longbow and dagger close to my side. My last thoughts linger on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-noce/whatever-befalls-us-we-will-endure-it-together-i-clutch-my-longbow/) [Mark Noce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-noce/) > [“One by one, I'll face the tasks before me and complete them as best I can. Focusing on each stride forward, but at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/one-by-one-i-ll-face-the-tasks-before-me-and-complete-them-as-best-i/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) Browse all 2,549 Endure quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“After all the years, after everything that you'd had to endure, after everything that you'd undertaken, however good or bad, long after you'd given up all hope, the reward.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marlene Van Niekerk" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-van-niekerk/after-all-the-years-after-everything-that-you-d-had-to-endure-after/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Endure" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-van-niekerk/after-all-the-years-after-everything-that-you-d-had-to-endure-after/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f9/marlene-van-niekerk-34386_hope_after-all-the-years-after-everything-tha_1812699.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f9/marlene-van-niekerk-34386_hope_after-all-the-years-after-everything-tha_1812699.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f9/marlene-van-niekerk-34386_hope_after-all-the-years-after-everything-tha_1812699.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“After all the years, after everything that you'd had to endure, after everything that you'd undertaken…” — Marlene Van Niekerk", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Marlene Van Niekerk", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-van-niekerk/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“After all the years, after everything...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-van-niekerk/after-all-the-years-after-everything-that-you-d-had-to-endure-after/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-van-niekerk/after-all-the-years-after-everything-that-you-d-had-to-endure-after/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```