98. Time

. . . Will tell

. . . Flies

. . . Is money

. . . Is on our side

I’m not sure about that last one. I just had a birthday, which tips me into the shady side of my sixth decade of life. I’ve arrived here much quicker than I ever thought. It still surprises me to catch a glimpse of graying hair and crepey skin when I pass a mirror. I sure don’t feel this old on the inside.

But here I am, like it or not. And here I am, very close to the finish of this very long Bible Sampler quilt project. Here’s block number 98, Hourglass:

I chose this block because of its reference to time. It’s time to get this quilt done.

I’ve been thinking about the passage of time lately, probably because of that aforementioned birthday. The measurement of time passing has interesting versions. The hourglass uses falling sand: time slips away until it is all gone. I use my wall calendar, time is spent scheduled into boxes of days on monthly pages. The Mayans use a circle: time rotates along with the seasons, the planet, the universe. The God of the Bible drops out of the time/space continuum entirely. I picture His version of time as an orb: no beginning, no ending. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last. The Holy Trinity was there at the Genesis, and also there at the Apocalypse. At the same time.

There’s something I’m curious about. When we die, what version of our earthly selves will enter eternity? Those who died as children, will they grow into maturity in Heaven? Will we perceive the passage of time there? If I live to be 100 (which I’d rather not do, thank you very much), will I be my grayed and wrinkled self for infinity and beyond?

What do you think? Well, my calendar informs me that I have an obligation to fulfill in about an hour. Time to go!