IF he hadn’t died when he was 60, I would now have been celebrating my husband’s 81st birthday. With hindsight, I can appreciate all the ways his love for me made my life better in a way I couldn’t when he was alive.

With my 80th birthday just days away, I find myself being grateful for everyone who has loved me over the years. My parents blessed me in countless ways, not least in sharing their faith with me.

With my son’s birth came a new kind of loving as the enormity of being responsible for the well-being of another hit me with a force I hadn’t expected. I smile at the memory of holding him as a helpless baby, as these days we are in role reversal with him doing things for me because he is now the more able one.

My grandsons have brought me such joy and I have really valued being part of their lives as I have watched them grow into men. This is all the more precious to me because my husband didn’t have this privilege.

Thankful as I am for all the love I have received over the years from my nearest and dearest, the love that has influenced and changed me most has been God’s love.

I can still remember the tears of pure joy I shed when I accepted Jesus as my lord and saviour because it’s a joy which is still with me over six decades later.

God’s love sustains me in any situation that I find myself in as he is only ever a prayer away and, since finding it, I have tried my best to share it with others, both in the pulpit and in my daily living.

Brenda Tregenza

Methodist local preacher, St Austell