How Love Changes with Age

Description

How does love change as we grow older? As I approach retirement, I find myself drawn to the quieter ways love takes shape: helping our children and grandchildren, caring for a neighbor, showing up where we can. Jesus gives us a beautiful understanding of agape, a love willing to give of itself. It’s an action that’s outward looking. I often share a simple progression with couples: “I am first, I am second, we are third.” We enjoy feeling loved, learn the joy of making another person feel valued, and begin looking outward together toward a shared purpose. Each stage has its beauty. In our Swedenborgian understanding, love comes alive through useful service, and these everyday acts of care help God transform us, our relationships, and our world. Whether we are married, single, or divorced, that invitation remains. We can help gently. We can release the need to run everything. And we can ask, with a partner or a friend, where our love might make a difference today.