Eternal Love

I have to admit … I’m a people watcher. I can observe so much about life from doing this in a spiritual way.

Recently, I was sitting in church waiting for Mass to begin when I observed a couple a few pews in front of me.  It was clear that the man was affected by something that was causing his memory to fade.  She lovingly held his hand and whispered to him. 

As Mass began, I couldn’t help but glance their way at times.  She helped him each time as they stood or sat, kept him focused as best she could during Mass.  The smile on her face only conveyed love when she looked at him. 

I’m sure he was a strong man who took care of her before this illness took his memory, and now it was her turn to take care of him. It was clear that he had no idea where he really was, but still she brought him to Mass with her. 

I’m thinking that it never occurred to her to blame or ask God why they had to go through this trying time. She was simply continuing their life by attending Mass. 

It happened that I was a Eucharistic Minister that evening, and they were in my line to receive Communion.  When they got to me, she looked at me with that beautiful smile, received the host and then helped her husband to do the same.  When I looked at him, I expected to see an emptiness in his eyes; but instead, I saw recognition in that moment as he took the host gently and placed it in his mouth. 

No matter what else was fading from his mind, I knew he still understood the gift of receiving the Body of Christ.  It was truly a God moment for me as I was reminded how no matter what changes in our lives, God will always be there for us.

We must give thanks for the presence of our faithful God, trusting him to take care of us.  He will never fail to take us in his arms of love and mercy and hold us there.  His is an eternal love for us.  We must celebrate those who take care of us when we are in need, showing us the example of God with their love.

I don’t know the whole story of this couple but I’m sure they had their challenges during their years of marriage.  They probably had no idea of what was ahead of them; but just like the eternal love God has for us, they had also found that love for one another. 

If we follow God’s ways during our fleeting time here on earth, as long as we “hear the word of God and observe it,’ whether our time on earth is very long or too short, we will be able to spend eternity with him.  I know the thought of God was still in that man’s heart.  And certainly as I watched his wife caring for him, she still had a deep love for God, even with the difficulties she was going through each day with her husband.

As we remember the birth of Jesus we just celebrated, let us also remember the eternal love God has for us.  We will experience the ups and downs of life, but by choosing to move through them with faith and trust, asking for the grace to believe God will never fail us, even when our bodies or minds do.  I am so grateful to have observed this couple, a beautiful sign of God’s love in action.  Let us pray we all are loving caretakers of one another as God has asked us to be in life.