Even to your old age I will be the same, And even to your graying years I will bear you! I have done it, and I will carry you; And I will bear you and I will deliver you. (Isaiah 46:4, NASB)
In all seasons of
life, many of us go through many growth-type cycles. As children we want to be
taller in order to qualify for a Disney ride. As aging adults we shrink but
it’s okay because those rides would throw our back out anyway. As pre-teens, we
want to be old enough to drive while as "senior" folks we like to be driven, at
least this gal does.
My Freedom of Simplicity e-audio book stated that finitude is
a cycle……a growth cycle known as aging. Of growing old---at least I think that’s what I heard as I was dozing off last night. I do
understand finitude as being finite and having limits. I see that every time
I’m asked, to check an age category when filling out forms or applications. 65
and above is always the "last" one.
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| So grateful that retirement has been a part of my aging cycle---just as it was for Bob M. when he retired from RCA. |
Maybe aging is seen as cyclical when the very “old” revert to their childish ways. Interestingly enough, for years young people have wanted to look older to gain admittance to
movies or bars while many of the aged try desperately to stall the effects of
aging in order to “look” younger. Each age trying to interrupt the God-given life cycles.
Yet, finitude really seems linear to me---as a way of seeing the length of one's days. Certainly one's
season of aging can be thought of as the “finite season.” When you reach the
end.....you fall in. A 6-foot drop!
But God…is there for eterni-TEA, so..... I can continue to sip my cuppa fini-TEA-ude,
whether it’s cyclical or linear, because God has determined the length of my days. (Job 14:5)
