The Dread Of Old Age

As you grow older, you are more likely to suffer from all kinds of diseases which are going to dent your quality of living. As a result of a stroke, you might become  paralysed. You need help to move around and someone to attend to your basic needs. It is difficult to envisage that kind of life that you are going to endure. Your living becomes a burden to your loved ones. The medical expenses involved in the treatment are also an astronomical figure.

            I think partly because of all that, an increasing number of old folks are being dumped in the local hospitals. There are even cases of the rich being neglected in the old homes for the aged. Their close ones and relatives seldom visit them and if they do as reported recently in the papers, they come to claim the properties.

            It is a blessing if you are still healthy even at whatever number. You can still function like a normal person albeit a bit slower. That is understandable but at least you do not depend on others for your needs.

            We must all realize that unless we take care of our health now, we are not going to die of old age. We are more likely to suffer from diseases and die in our prime if the hospital mortality statistics are anything to go by.

            Paradoxically, dying of a ripe old age also has its complications. We also need care and love to live longer and to a large extent your loved ones have to play a significant role in providing you the mental and spiritual support.

            Apart from that, you must also have the financial means to sustain living to a ripe old age.

            Anyway, life has never been easy.  It is God’s plan that we live to suffer later in old age. It is a natural process.  It is hoped that with a little planning ahead,  maybe we can enjoy more of our twilight years before we see our Creator. Amen.