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My youngest daughter has a chihuahua that will be 20 years old on April 1. He can no longer see nor hear, and for the most part, he sleeps all day. The only time he is awake is when it’s time to eat or time to use the bathroom. When he gets up to walk, most of the time it is straight into a wall, and when she calls his name, and no matter how loud she calls his name, he is not going to respond. Her siblings sometimes tease her about the dog but to her, he is right as rain.

Her love for him never changed just because he grew old, instead, it intensified. She learned to love him in a different way. She learned that he has to be carried in certain situations to avoid hurting himself. And when she wants a response from him, she holds him close and whispers in his ear that she loves him. Although she can’t say for sure if he hears her, his body relaxes because he knows he can depend on her love.

Love doesn’t end just because someone ages. Instead, it should increase. God loves us regardless of how old we may become. There may come a time in our lives that we go through difficulties while aging. But we trust in God to carry us through. We trust in God to carry us through the storm. We trust in God to whisper in our ear that he loves us, regardless of our age.

Proverbs 20:29 says, “The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.”

Psalm 71:9 says, “Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent.

Isaiah 46:4 says, “Even to your old age I am He, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.

Be blessed in Jesus’ name.

Mary Simmons is a columnist for The Kenbridge-Victoria Dispatch. She can be reached at aboxoflove37@gmail.com.