A Heavy Blessing

[Mark Dohle]

A Heavy Blessing

Getting old is one of God’s greatest gifts—
a heavy blessing. This new body, unlike the old,
limps sometimes, the back aches,
and now there’s a balloon in my head.

Yet I would not want to be a day younger.
Each age I’ve passed through had its troubles;
being young once was more than enough.
Middle age, no different.

Still, I am happy—
and at times, uneasy—
as my life speeds up for the final turns.
In the blink of an eye, I will be gone.
All of life is like that: blink, and a decade passes.

So I seek to become more human.
I want my stone-like heart to turn to flesh,
as the heart of Jesus is.
We are here to learn to love—
and in old age,
that love can finally blossom
as we move slowly forward
on a very fast train.-Br.MD​

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