Signs of getting old.

My teeth have been dropping off one by one almost once every other 2-3 months . Normally it began by having gum pains ,then swollening of the gums and subsequently followed by the loosening of the tooth before it finally peeled off . I am now left with only half the number of teeth of what I should have . The vital teeth whose function is to chew the food are now gone and I am now finding it difficult to digest food especially the hard one . As such I have lost the joy of having food and naturally the amount of food that I take in is significatly reduced . Before, besides the three main meals ( breakfast, lunch and dinner ) I would have titbits in between but today that practice have ceased from my daily practices . I used to hear from my peers who used to say , " My friend , enjoy your food as much as you can , before the time comes when you cease to enjoy it any more " . Now I realized what they told me is absolutely true .

Age is really catching up with me although I am just only 61 ( in July 2008 ) . I feel I am not as active as before and easily got worn out . That is perhaps the sign of getting old . One by one Almighty God would take away from us the joy ( kenikmatan ) that we usually enjoy , when age is catching up with us . Then we must realize and recognise the will of Allah and therefore we must go back to Him for guidance for our next long journey to Heaven . All that we have on this earth is meaningless if we do not prepare ourselves for that eternal life . Only 3 things that would help us go through ;-

1. Charity that we have given which continue to benefit mankind,

2. Beneficial knowledge that we have imparted,

3. Supplication ( doa ) by our righteous /God fearing ( solleh ) children.

I have nothing much to depend on the 1st and 2nd subjects as my contributions are not that significant . But I do greatly depend much on the 3rd subject if I could count on my children . I do not know how much my children love me and appreciate what I have given them or would they treat it ( my contribution to them ) as mere fatherly responsibility . If that is the case , it would be the saddest thing that could ever happen to me and I would die feeling dejected . However , I hope Allah would not allow that to befall me . Amin .