Mid-Life Appraisal

No, I am not old and cold and stale,
But I am not young, my life just begun;
Age is creeping in, yet I’m no sage,
Just one man with heart broken into
Too many parts to piece back together,
But not for lack of trying with crying;
Too much has come-n-gone, some good,
Much not, and I’ve sought redemption,
Sanctification and glorification, too,
But I’m left in mortification of life
So rife with pain with no gain, and I
Wonder if I’m going insane; yet there
Is also some joy in more than mere toys;
Real life peels back layer after layer
And I begin to find my true self without
Any skew of reality and hope God will
Yet renew this tarnished man, who once
Was varnished in youth but shy of sooth;
I hope upon hope one day to find my way
To the Valley of Peace for new lease
On life; to right some of the wrongs
That haunt me day and night in plight
Of aging while yet not old and cold.

My life is mid-stream. Can I reach back to reclaim something good and worthwhile before heading on to the other shore? Or is there more where I am that I cannot see to be grasped and enjoyed in maturity with the surety of heavenly days and carefree ways? Ah! Spirit of Life, help me to see and to be all that I can be as an unyoung yet not old man!

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