757. I Never Imagined He Had Saved Up the Pocket Money I had Given Him…

💌 757. I Never Imagined He Had Saved Up the Pocket Money I had Given Him…

Clutching the cold body of the elderly man, Mr. Andrew Bong, I wept uncontrollably for a long time. Then I thought to myself, “No, I have to fulfill my duty as a daughter. I can’t just stay here crying.” My eyes were so swollen from all the tears that I could barely open them but I pulled myself together and started making arrangements for the funeral. I contacted the parish office and the bereavement ministry of the parish and waited. Before long, Mrs. Serena, the elderly lady who lives across the street, came by.

She had been a non-believer at first. But after seeing how my family and I consistently cared for him with love, she began to think, “The Catholic faith must be something truly good.” Eventually, she went through catechism and was baptized, taking the name Serena.

She quietly called me over. “Julia, I looked through all of Mr. Bong’s clothes and belongings and I found some money deep inside his clothes,” she said, handing me 360,000 Won. In that very moment, I broke down in tears once again. It turned out that the elderly Mr. Bong had saved all the pocket money I had given him without spending any of it, keeping it to help with the funeral expenses.

Mrs. Serena across the street said Mr. Bong had repeated it so often, it was as if the words were part of him: “Ah-jim told me not to worry—that she would take care of everything after I die. But still, I feel bad, so I thought I should save up some money...” He had apparently been worried about it and when those words came back to her, Mrs. Serena began to wonder, “Did he leave behind any money?” So she searched through all his blankets and clothes.  

He often spoke to me, too, about his worries over his funeral. “Ah-jim, what will happen when I die? I don’t have anything to leave behind...” Didn’t he say that many times?

Since I naturally assumed I would take care of everything, I used to tell him, “Don’t worry about that. Please just enjoy eating lots of delicious food.”

That is why, looking at the money, I felt a deep, aching regret for not having done more for him. “I never imagined he would save the money I gave him—money meant for him to buy whatever he wanted to eat—without ever spending a penny. And to think he even went through a break-in once; how heartbreaking that must have been for him. If I had known he wouldn’t spend the money, I wish I had simply accepted it when he offered it and used it more for his sake…”

As I thought about it, my heart just shattered. Every time he tried to give me money, I would always refuse to receive it, saying, “No, I am okay. You don’t have to.” He always wanted to give me something, but I kept turning him down. I had been nothing more than a heartless daughter, rejecting his love! The memory of the last time I visited him before he passed weighed heavily over me, filling me with deep sorrow.

He handed me some crumpled money, insisting I take it but I refused, saying, “No, it is okay. You should keep it for yourself, father,” and walked away. Since his frail body wouldn’t allow him to catch up, he called out loudly, “Take it, Ah-jim!” But I hurried away, leaving his words behind. Little did I know that would be the last time! All this time, I had only known how to give, never how to receive. I was the stubborn one—the one who turned away his love!

“Oh, poor man. Please forgive this undeserving daughter. I earnestly pray to the Lord that every tear I shed now, born from the love I couldn’t give you, won’t be shed in vain but will instead become grace flowing toward the salvation of your soul. Please forgive my shortcomings and may you enter Heaven in peace.”

My personal reflection note with Mama Julia🌹💗 

Link 👇🏻

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