Title: Winter of Life
Contents
Last week we talked about the fall of life. Today I will tell you about the winter old age of life.
Humans have long been asking the question of what the meaning of life is. These questions are not simple questions that can be answered at any one time in your life. This question is a question that occupies the mind more in old age, when stamina or active power gradually declines during the four seasons of life. In that sense, old age is a time to reexamine the value of life.
Some people experience rapid senescence after retirement, mostly because they do not have meaningful work. On the other hand, those who continue to lead a healthy life after retirement are continuing to do meaningful work.
When I was in Vancouver, Canada, I visited the Zion Choir, which was made up of people who were over 60 years old. They meet every Thursday at the Community Center in the city for an hour of Bible study, lunch together, and an hour of choral practice in the afternoon. We also hold concerts in the first and second half of every year.
According to them, that day is the most awaited during the week. They told them that time was the only meaning of immigrant life. Living with meaningful work in old age is the secret to living a healthy life in old age.
As we enter old age, two remarkable changes occur that cannot be experienced in other seasons of life. First of all, it is a physiological change for me personally.
There is an article like this among the articles that someone expressed his old age.
“I know that my youth is already gone.
But I am completely unaware that I am old.
But one strange thing is that I go to bed every night until I wake up the next day.
I have my ears in the drawer, my teeth in the cup, and my eyes on the desk."
This article expresses the conflicting consciousness experienced in the later years of life. A common saying from people who have entered old age is, 'The mind is still young, but the body does not listen. These conflicting consciousnesses make old age unacceptable.
The wise man who wrote Ecclesiastes is also very realistically expressing the changes that come with old age.
“In those days and in those days, the guards shall tremble the arms shall tremble,
The strong will be bent - both legs will be weak,
The millers will cease because there are few they are lost and cannot chew;
Those who look out of the windows will be darkened - the eyes will not see well,
The street doors will be shut, the millstones will be quieter - the ears will be deaf,
will rise because of our voice - sleep less,
All the women of the musicians will fade away they are deaf and cannot sing,
will fear the high places - there are many fears,
The apricot tree will blossom - the hair of the head shall be white,
Grasshoppers will also be a burden - they will not move as vigorously as in their youth,
When the lust ceases - the physical and mental will will be lost."
The writer of Ecclesiastes says that old age is a difficult day. The writer of Ecclesiastes said that old age is a difficult day because it is a time when the strength of the body is weakened, interest in everything is lost, and depression is more felt. The wise man tells us to remember the 'creator' before these troubled days come. Then it's not because you're exempt from old age. This is because if we depend on the Creator before the difficult days arrive, we can live a meaningful life and overcome the crisis of old age properly.
On the other hand, from a social point of view, old age is a period of liberation from social responsibility and obligations. Therefore, while experiencing freedom and liberation in old age, there is regret, regret, and embarrassment.
A priest I know got married when he was young and spent most of his life raising children and caring for his unhealthy husband. Through a woman's self-sacrificing self-sacrifice, her children all finished college, got a job, got married, and started a family. Her husband, who became a heavy burden in her life, also passed away. Finally, he was freed from all the burdens of his life. And then, when he returned to his reality, it was already the old age of his life.
When I took off all the burdens of my life and started to live my life from now on, I realized that the remaining time in my life was short. The freedom he met in his old age left him with regret, disappointment, and impatience. He began studying theology while quietly praying and meditating in such a crisis of his life. Not for missionary work, but to live the rest of my life meaningfully.
He was able to overcome the crisis of his life by immersing himself in the work for three years. He found peace of mind, and then he immigrated to Canada and founded the Zion Choir, where he has been leading the choir for 16 years.
Mr. Kwon Lee is spending the difficult days of his life well with the help of God, whom he has been relying on since his youth.
Old age in life is not a season of regrets and regrets. Old age is also the season when many experiences are accumulated as wealth. It is a time to reexamine the value of life. So the ancient Hebrews said that old age in life was a very valuable period with many degrees. That's why the elderly became respected in their community. The experiences you have in old age are more valuable because they are not learned as knowledge in the classroom, but are learned experientially in the realities of life up to now. Valuable means that it has gone through trial and error.
Even if a young newlywed couple bought a book on parenting before marriage and acquired all the knowledge about child rearing, it is not comparable to the experience of a mother in her later years of life. Old age in life is a very valuable period in that sense. Mistakes can lead to old age and contempt for all the past, which is undesirable. The more you do it, the more regret and emptiness remain in old age. Such an attitude is not an attitude of living a healthy life in old age. On the other hand, finding valuable lessons from past experiences, accepting them with your heart, and passing them on to future generations as a legacy in writing or verbally is the secret to living a healthy life in old age. When you do not disdain the past and accept it as valuable, you can easily accept old age positively.
On the other hand, in old age, one should prepare for the approaching final hour by arranging one by one the legacy of valuable experiences from the past. The time to stand before God comes without notice, so you must always be prepared for that time.
When I was in America a few years ago, I heard a story about a moving event that took place a few weeks before I arrived.
An elderly couple was traveling the continental United States in a 'camping car' when they encountered heavy snow high in a national park. The sudden snowfall made the car stuck in the snow and unable to move. The snow continued to fall and the entire car was covered with snow. The old couple got locked up in a car. Then, about a week later, a car in the snow was found and rescued. But at that time, the old couple were no longer people of this world. There was a diary next to them who died peacefully.
The diary contained the diary written by the husband looking forward to the time of death from the time the elderly couple was trapped in the snow, and the diary that the wife who was next to him continued to record after the husband died first. There was an article written about it.
“My husband started keeping a diary until the moment we died as we got stuck in the snow. There was no glimmer of fear in the sight of him watching from the side, he was very peaceful and stable. Later, I started writing a diary on his behalf, and I also reached my last hour."
The lonely old couple trapped in the snow can be symbolized as a person who has reached old age in solitude and loneliness. In the midst of that, if you give up everything, accept reality, and be able to keep a journal while looking forward to the time of eternity that is approaching, you can say that you are living a wonderful old age. Such a life itself proves how he has lived up to now. The last moments of his life are a time that reflects his entire life.
Finally, I will listen to the words of the Apostle Paul, who lived for Christ before the hard days came and finally reached his old age in Christ.
“I have already been poured out as a drink offering, and the hour of my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith, and from now on there is prepared for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day. and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:6-8).
Dear saints,
The winter of life, old age in life is the future of all of us. That time is drawing nearer for all of us. With that old age, the time to stand before God is getting closer and closer. Before that time comes, let us remember the Creator God. God the Creator has answers to all the questions of our lives. Ultimately, we must go and stand before the Creator God. You must trust him deeply and deeply before the hour suddenly comes.
- Amen -