Aging

Ever wish you could age like your dog? As Mandy (now close to eleven – seventy-seven in “people years”) grows older, we can’t help but notice her slightly swayed back, the grey hairs in her otherwise black and tan muzzle and the sagging tummy. Her days of chewing on forbidden things have past.

But Mandy isn’t anxious about her appearance, she doesn’t check her posture, isn’t concerned about the increasing number of grey hairs or her drooping belly. No, she’s content to move a little slower, sleep a little longer and hang out with the people she loves, people who deeply love her. We love her because she is – and she’s ours.

“The Lord appeared … saying, ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you and continued My faithfulness to you.’” (Jeremiah 31:3, New International Version)

We need to take some lessons from the dog. We need to remember that we are loved just as we are, because we are. We were each created by the Father because He wanted another person to love (though He already had more people to love “than there are stars in the sky and sand on the seashore.” – See Genesis 22:17). We can trust that no matter what we look like (or what mistakes we’ve made) He will always love us.

My posture isn’t what it once was, my hair is turning grey and my tummy is definitely sagging. But just as I love Mandy regardless of her appearance, our Father deeply loves each one of us regardless of how we look (or of the mistakes we’ve made). He loves us because we are – and we are His, a fact we need to remember and embrace especially when we look into the mirror.

(C) Debbie Lowe, 2019