My dear friends, my family,
I’ve walked far with you.
I’ve carried you when you were weak,
I’ve stood beside you when you were alone,
I’ve held up your burdens when they were too heavy.
I did it gladly, because love asks nothing less.
But now I am tired.
My feet are sore, my spirit is worn.
I don’t always show it, but the weight I bear is real.
And so I ask you — carry me.
Carry me a little farther.
Carry me one more mile.
I don’t know exactly where this road is leading,
but I believe I can make it,
if I can lean on you the way you leaned on me.
This is not surrender.
This is not weakness.
This is trust — trust that the love I poured out
will return to me when I need it most.
So walk with me.
Stand by me.
Lift me when I stumble.
Because I carried you,
and now I ask you — carry me a little while.
With love,
Dean