The Gift of Years, is a book written in 2008 by Joan Chittister, a nun for fifty-years and author more than thirty-five books. The excerpt from this book is only five pages but they are five powerful pages that makes one think of their life and how we leave this Earth. Chittister writes about leaving a legacy but not the type modern society thinks of. She points out how many of us neglect to grow our spirit for the sake of material things and the time to find a new kind of strength. The end is near but it is only the beginning. Leaving behind a legacy is important to some people but what are they leaving is what counts. Chittister (2008) wrote, there is a big difference between leaving a legacy and leaving a “legacy” (Chittister, 2008). In …show more content…
218) I happen to agree with her statement, if one believes then it is never too late to grow closer to their GOD. As one gets latter in their lives, they have time to think about the past and how their life was lived. Some people use this time to relax, other take time out of everyday life and give back to their fellow man. Time keeps moving at the same rate as we slow down due to our age catching up to us. This does not mean that this last period of life is an inactive time, a meaningless time. We begin to understand things we never even contemplated before, like the meaning of time, the preeminence of beauty, the power of the touch of a hand (Chittister, 2008, p. 220). This sentence really touches my heart, I can recall the days leading up to my aunts death, were she stated that she wishes she had more time. Seeing old pictures of how we once look as a young person and now who we see in the mirror. For some it is hard getting old, knowing the end is right around the corner; for others they could think this is just closer to the beginning of something