Loving Through the Years: A Reflection on Love and Devotion

Last week, I was at the hospital for a doctor’s appointment. While waiting, I observed patients and their loved ones, and one elderly couple caught my attention. After receiving their lab results, they sat beside me and began comparing their cholesterol, sugar, and uric acid levels. It was a little amusing as the wife asked her husband, “Ngano taas akong sugar na parehas ra man ta og gikaon atong medya noche?” (“Why is my sugar high? We ate the same food during the media noche!”).

In that moment, I was struck by the beauty of aging gracefully with the one you love most. Despite the challenges of aging, like fluctuating lab test results, wrinkles, thinning hair, and physical limitations, they remained steadfast in their love and care for each other. Love, in its truest form, is the essential element that binds people together. To keep that love alive, we must nurture and express it in different ways based on our life circumstances.

I was truly amazed by this couple. Their deep love, a ministry of service to each other and to Christ, was deeply inspiring.

While it’s easy to promise to love and serve each other “for better or worse,” sustaining that promise through life’s challenges is not always easy. What happens when we grow old or face illness? These are the true tests of character and commitment. As the couple stood up to leave, I found myself humming the lines of a song by Rey Valera, a song that often reflects my own musings on life:

Kung tayo ay matanda na, Sana’y di tayo magbago, Kailan man nasaan ma’y ito ang pangarap ko… Ang nakalipas ay ibabalik natin… Ipapaala ko sa ‘yo ang aking pangako na ang pag-ibig ko’y laging sa ‘yo. Kahit maputi na ang buhok ko.

I felt like I was in a trance, lost in the beauty of their enduring love. It was a reminder that love is not merely about grand gestures or fleeting emotions but about a lifelong commitment to care, understand, and remain present for one another.

During my reflection, I realized that each of us is called to love in the way Christ has taught us. Love is not about honor or recognition, but about genuine service. It is about choosing to care, to sacrifice, and to remain faithful to our promises. So, how can we continue to love even in old age or sickness? The answer lies in our ability to deepen our devotion to love itself—through small acts of kindness, through patience, and through firm commitment to those we hold dear.

As we celebrate the month of love, let us be reminded that love is a journey, not just a feeling. It is nurtured in our daily choices, in the way we care for our parents, siblings, children, or spouse. The love we cultivate within ourselves and for one another is what will sustain us, even as we grow old. True love is not measured by time but by the depth of our commitment to cherish and care for each other through the years. (Francis Manayan)