It is written in ancient medical books that "a hundred and twenty years old is considered great longevity", and the stages of life are divided by age: the stage where you are just born is called infancy, where you can talk, then later walk and finally start going to school is all childhood, twenty is youth, thirty is primacy, forty is maturity, fifty is middle age, sixty is seniority, seventy is elderly, eighty is aged, and ninety or more is longevity test. Am I really aged as I'm approaching eighty?
There is a Minnan song that says: "At fifty you think of everything like a kid, sixty is the age of youth, seventy is quite uncommon, at eighty you should rejoice, ninety is indeed rare, and at a hundred, you will be praised". The first time I heard this hymn was at a church meeting in 1993, where nearly ten elderly people in their seventies and eighties sang their hearts out with joy; although their voices were hoarse and occasionally out of tune, they felt rejuvenated and full of youth in the love of God. It was this poem that inspired me to set up a blog account named "Sixty Years of Youth", to share my faith in 2006 when I turned sixty; do not be depressed at sunset, do not get worn out long before your time is due, avoid lamenting the passing of time, but I will be grateful that God still keeps me healthy and lively today, which is the greatest blessing in this life.
How time flies! As I am approaching eighty, all sorts of feelings crop up in my mind. On the blog post "When I was 60 Years Old, I Started a New Journey", I wrote: "The purpose of life is to create value in life, but the true value of life is not always measured in money. Our elders can enjoy a happy life and a beautiful sunset every day; our husbands or wives can have a lifelong companionship with us; our children and grandchildren pass on valuable faith from their parents; we accumulate good experiences on how to deal with people, learning bitter lessons in every day of our life and our friends and relatives can enjoy sincere love. It's a really mundane, meaningful but difficult life project that doesn't require ambitious aspirations, just stage-by-stage goals. You may never accomplish it, but you can strive with all your heart to be the best possible person."
This is exactly how I have lived out my life's values over the past ten years. It is all about the grace of God. Looking back, it is amazing how God's providence works. I have personally witnessed several elders and close relatives of my family passing away back to their heavenly home. Gratefully, they were all Christians, and they had nothing but hope and peace on their way “home”, because they knew exactly where they were going. The footprints they left are the light on my journey “home”.
A person can accept a faith that he thinks is best, and once he decides that it is worth holding on to for the rest of his life, he will consistently pursue the life given by that faith, “following the requirements of the truth to deal with his whole life”.
Although I still have to face many challenges and will be weak in my later years, I firmly believe that my future is full of sunshine as long as I walk with the Lord. Although I am not in charge of my own destiny, I know that God has different plans for everyone, and trust that His arrangements are always the best.
"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8)
(The original article is published by Gospel Times.)
- Translated by Wylie Sun
·据古医书指“上寿百二十岁”，以年龄划分的人生阶段是：初生曰婴，初语曰儿，初行曰孩，初学曰童，二十曰青年，三十曰壮年，四十曰强年，五十曰中年，六十曰耆，七十曰老，八十曰耋，九十曰耄，九十以上曰寿考。过古稀奔耄耋的我，是不是真的老了？
有一首闽南语歌唱道﹕“五十孩子痞，六十少年时，七十不稀奇，八十可欢喜，九十真难得，百岁得赞美”。第一次听到这首诗歌，是1993年在一次教会聚会上，有近十位七、八十岁的老人，他们满怀喜悦唱出自己的心声，虽然声音沙哑，偶尔还会走调，但却让人觉得他们在神的爱中，返老还童，充满青春气息。也就是受这首诗歌启发，让我在2006年届满六十时，以“六十少年时”开博，分享自己的信仰。不要有日暮西山的消沉，不要未老先衰，不要感叹岁月如流，而要感恩，上天仍保守我今天身体健康，心灵活泼，这是最大的福分。
光阴似箭，而今，我已过古稀奔耄耋，感慨颇多。 当年我在博文“六十少年时，开始新征途”中写道：“生命目的，在于创造人生价值，但是真正的人生价值并不都能用金钱来衡量的。让在世的长辈感受到活著真幸福、夕阳无限好，让自己的老伴体恤到相濡以沫、相依为命的一生的陪伴，让儿女子孙接受来自父母宝贵的人生信仰，吸收为人处事的好经验，吸取人生道路上刻骨铭心的教训，让亲朋好友享受诚挚的人间真情……这真是一项平凡、有意义而艰巨的人生课题，不需要有远大的理想，只需要有阶段性的目标。你永远无法完成它，但你可以努力用心争取做得最好。"
十多年过去了，我正是这样实践着自己的人生价值。这是神的恩典。回首往事，神的安排何等奇妙。我亲身见证家族数位长辈及至亲先后离世，蒙召回天家的过程。感恩的是，他们都是基督徒，他们在回“家”的路上，只有盼望，没有恐惧，只有平安，没有悲伤，因为他们清楚地知道，要去哪里。他们走过的足迹，正是我的归程路上的光。欣慰的是，数十年来人文环境变化再大，唯我所信仰的不变，因为我知道，我所信的是真理，道路，是回“家”路上永不熄灭的启明星。
一个人可以接受一种自己认为最好的信仰，一旦认定值得自己一辈子坚守的信仰，他就会始终不渝地追求这种信仰所给予的人生，“遵循真理的要求而处理其全部生活”。
虽然我的晚年生活中还需面对许多挑战，还会软弱，但坚信只要与主同行，我的未来充满阳光。虽然我不能掌管自己的明天，但我知道上帝对每个人有不同计划，相信祂，上帝的安排总是最好的。 “世人哪！耶和华已指示你何为善，他向你所要的是甚么呢？只要你行公义，好怜悯，存谦卑的心，与你的神同行。”（弥迦书六章八节）
过古稀 奔耄耋 笑迎夕阳无限好——一位信仰老人的自白
It is written in ancient medical books that "a hundred and twenty years old is considered great longevity", and the stages of life are divided by age: the stage where you are just born is called infancy, where you can talk, then later walk and finally start going to school is all childhood, twenty is youth, thirty is primacy, forty is maturity, fifty is middle age, sixty is seniority, seventy is elderly, eighty is aged, and ninety or more is longevity test. Am I really aged as I'm approaching eighty?
There is a Minnan song that says: "At fifty you think of everything like a kid, sixty is the age of youth, seventy is quite uncommon, at eighty you should rejoice, ninety is indeed rare, and at a hundred, you will be praised". The first time I heard this hymn was at a church meeting in 1993, where nearly ten elderly people in their seventies and eighties sang their hearts out with joy; although their voices were hoarse and occasionally out of tune, they felt rejuvenated and full of youth in the love of God. It was this poem that inspired me to set up a blog account named "Sixty Years of Youth", to share my faith in 2006 when I turned sixty; do not be depressed at sunset, do not get worn out long before your time is due, avoid lamenting the passing of time, but I will be grateful that God still keeps me healthy and lively today, which is the greatest blessing in this life.
How time flies! As I am approaching eighty, all sorts of feelings crop up in my mind. On the blog post "When I was 60 Years Old, I Started a New Journey", I wrote: "The purpose of life is to create value in life, but the true value of life is not always measured in money. Our elders can enjoy a happy life and a beautiful sunset every day; our husbands or wives can have a lifelong companionship with us; our children and grandchildren pass on valuable faith from their parents; we accumulate good experiences on how to deal with people, learning bitter lessons in every day of our life and our friends and relatives can enjoy sincere love. It's a really mundane, meaningful but difficult life project that doesn't require ambitious aspirations, just stage-by-stage goals. You may never accomplish it, but you can strive with all your heart to be the best possible person."
This is exactly how I have lived out my life's values over the past ten years. It is all about the grace of God. Looking back, it is amazing how God's providence works. I have personally witnessed several elders and close relatives of my family passing away back to their heavenly home. Gratefully, they were all Christians, and they had nothing but hope and peace on their way “home”, because they knew exactly where they were going. The footprints they left are the light on my journey “home”.
A person can accept a faith that he thinks is best, and once he decides that it is worth holding on to for the rest of his life, he will consistently pursue the life given by that faith, “following the requirements of the truth to deal with his whole life”.
Although I still have to face many challenges and will be weak in my later years, I firmly believe that my future is full of sunshine as long as I walk with the Lord. Although I am not in charge of my own destiny, I know that God has different plans for everyone, and trust that His arrangements are always the best.
"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8)
(The original article is published by Gospel Times.)
- Translated by Wylie Sun
"Smiling at the Setting Sun", An Elderly Believer Says
