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Long ago, I was called to be a missionary in Singapore, but I came back after two and half years because of various reasons. Then, time passed like the wind and like the water.
Celebrating the 25th year of the first profession, I wholeheartedly accepted a calling to leave again. I regard this unexpected calling as a gift from God and accept it with joy and gratitude.
Being transferred to Seoul, I received various feedback: some positive, encouraging and hopeful, but some are negative and discouraging. One of the challenging questions was: "How do you dare to go abroad at the age of 60?"
This question challenged my response to the calling that I accepted as a gift from God. I pondered on getting old, and my introspection reminded me of the book titled "What's wrong with my age?" written by Hwang Anna (Kyung-wha) in 2005.
Hwang believed that every woman has a dream to go far away alone. So, at the age of 65 in 2004, she attempted a solo walking tour for 23 days from Haenam Ttangkkeut Village to the Unification Observatory. Such a journey made her life exciting and enjoyable, and she returned with deeper introspection. Rock climbing, overnight hiking and trekking in Nepal gave her a profound sense of freedom in life.
Born in Gaeseong in present-day North Korea in 1940, she graduated from Chuncheon Teachers' School and taught children for 40 years. After retirement in 1998, she began to travel. In 2007, she completed the 4,000-kilometer voyage of the Korean coastline from the East Sea to the South Sea and the West Sea in 100 days. In the same year, she made her pilgrimage to Santiago in Spain.
God's calling always goes beyond the human way of thinking and judgment. Sarah was 90 years old when she gave birth to Isaac.
When God promised to bless Sarah and Abraham by giving them a son, Abraham fell face down, laughed, and said to himself: "Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah give birth at ninety?" (Genesis 17:17)
It is true that Abraham and Sarah were old. Sarah also laughed and said to herself: "Will I really bear a child, old as I am?" (Gen 18:13)
Nevertheless, God's will came to bear. The Lord did for them as he had promised…
In spite of various feedback, I started again to read through the whole Bible. While practicing driving, I do my best to get used to driving skills. Looking back, I remember how going abroad to experience something new and different was one of my dreams. In spite of my longing, I thought it was late for me to go to another country again. So, I renounced my dream and did my best here and now while appreciating each moment.
"Go forth from your land… to a land that I will show you." (Gen 12:1) Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. He went as the Lord directed him and set out for the land of Canaan. Abram was renamed "Abraham" (Gen 17:5), and God's dream was realized in the end.
The author is a member of the Daughters of St. Paul (fsp.pauline.or.kr.) living and giving the Good News to the world by means of social communication.
