08/21/2026
God of My Life,
The seasons of nature are fleeting,
even when individual days are long and drown out:
Summer just began, yet the cicadas are buzzing,
twilight starts earlier and earlier, and
school is already back in session.
The seasons of life are much the same:
while there are eras when change is so gradual
as to be imperceptible, even then my body
is altered by time and gravity, my soul
develops, and the world is in flux.
Now I am in my sixth decade, and this is not
an era when change comes gradually: time seems
to be picking up speed and the shifts are coming
faster, leaving me less time to get my
bearings and make adjustments.
This is a universal experience, common to
every human who survives into late middle age.
Objectively, there is nothing new about any
of this; still, every bit of it is new to me.
I have never been this old before!
Much of this process is out my hands,
but I am in control of my attitude and responses.
Help me to think, speak, and carry myself with
wisdom, hope, flexibility, openness,
faith, kindness, and compassion.
I want to change in good ways, even
if my older body, our fluctuating culture, and
unfavorable circumstances make it easy to
give in to anger, fearfulness, and pride,
and become rigid and closed off.
Help me to age with grace and love!
Donald K. Nelson, ad gloriam Dei
This is a photo of me as a toddler.
