motivational
Times
and
Seasons by Omokorede Fasoro
To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven. - Ecc.3:1
I
t is a clear fact, that women go through different phases, when it comes to the issue of age. It has even been said, that no woman as she grows older ever likes her age being asked, and that it is actually an offence to ask a woman for her age! The interesting thing is that she was never like that before. As a toddler she is eager to tell you her age, the moment you ask her the question…..How old are you? She replies joyfully with a wide smile...‘I am four years old.’ (She even shows you her four little fingers, to make her statement clearer, just in case you have a problem with counting!) Now, wait until she becomes a teenager, and you ask her for her age. She has no problem telling you, only you can be sure you will not get a sincere reply. A thirteen year old teenager suddenly adds three extra years every year, until she suddenly becomes twenty one almost overnight. She then remains that age for the next couple of years! Should you press her further for her real age, you hear her say something like…..I’m twenty something……and 86
the conversation ends abruptly, since this is a no go area for her. The moment she gets married and starts having children, you commit a crime by asking her for her age. She only tells you when she is marking her birthday that she is a year older... Period! As she progresses, she then enters another phase when she begins to mark and probably celebrate the special birthdays...such as 40th, 50th, 60th etc. It is now okay for everyone to know her real age! I have always wondered why women have problems telling their real age. Is it the fear of being seen as too young or too old? Could it be the fear of being seen by people as not having achieved enough for the particular age they really have attained? Many times, we have had dreams of achieving certain milestones in life before attaining a particular age. I have heard people say things like…. By the time I am 30 years old, I want to have been married, and have had two children; By the time I am 40 years, I want to be a millionaire, have built my own house and own my own business; By the time I am 60 years, I want to have had at least five
grandchildren...The list could go on and on. It appears that society too places certain pressures on us to have some expectations for every stage of our lives. There are certain things, which if one has not achieved at certain periods of one’s lives, our society concludes that one is a failure. This just leads to frustration and a sense of unfulfilment in the hearts of those concerned. The good news however, is that God is not moved by our time. He does not view time the way we do, with hours, days months and years. He deals with us through seasons (Kairos in greek). Time (which is also referred to as ‘chronos’ in the Greek) and that we are used to, talks of duration of time, period, quantity, extent or the length of time. It tells us what day, month, or year it is. On the other hand, Kairos tells us the kind of and the quality of the time. It talks of the proper time, the set and due time and the appointed time for any particular action. This means that God does not necessarily look at the duration of the time we are in, rather He looks at the occurrences that should have taken gemwoman | July/August 2007
