When We Grow Old

Everything becomes much quieter, and life seems to slow down to a crawl, as we grow old.

As we become old, we become wiser. We have more wisdom and knowledge, but we lack the energy to carry out our activities. We know a lot, yet we can only do less and we cannot do as quickly. We become talkative, gossipy and easily angered when our voice is not heard.

As we become old, we become emotional and more confused. We hesitate to make decisions and judgments. We are more stubborn and reluctant to change and mend our ways, and we create a lot of tensions and conflicts in the family.

As we become old, we have more choices of food and drink. But we find it hard to eat with fewer and weaker teeth. And with shaking hands, we slowly bring the food to the mouth. Then we face difficulties chewing and swallowing. Sometimes we spill our food and drink, and make a huge mess everywhere. We feel ashamed and sad when our younger generations scream at us and say bad things to us, or about us.

As we become old, we tend to sit down more often. We look back on our journey and think about our past. We regret the many missed opportunities that have been lost in the years. And we are very sorry for our hesitations and our choices. And we tell ourselves that we don't dare to dream anymore. We just want to busy doing our daily chores and routines, and occupy our lives until we are called home.

As we become old, we walk with weak knees and legs. We walk in smaller steps and slower pace, and we watch our steps very carefully. Sometimes we walk in pains, using a cane or a stick as our lead.

It is really scary to grow old. It is not only the sickness, the slow death or the helplessness that scare us. Apparently there are more.....

But it doesn't matter. Whatever happens, let us graciously accept the fact that we will gradually grow old and weak.

Sometimes, it is when we realize that we are weak and venerable that we believe and trust God more. Our faith in God grows as our reliance on God grows. And we begin to enjoy every single moment of our old age more when we trust God as our strength and our salvation.