When you have a loved one who isn't well...

When you have a loved one who isn't well you still love them.

Even when they regret they can't do things for you, even when you wish they could do or be more, you love them.

You wish they could be more for themselves because you see the best in them. They are not their weakness. They are the thing you see in them tha you love. You would love to see them embody their greatest glory all the time. And when they can't, you feel for them.

You want to care for them because you chose them. Or perhaps the thing in them that you love, which you think is their essence, chose you. You were given enough love to suffer for them and suffering for them completes your love.

You believe that they deserve your sacrifice. If you can help them, you honor the greatness that you love in them.

But it is much easier to be the giver than the needy one. We think we don't deserve the love and forgiveness of our lover. We feel guilty for needing it. Our guilt and shame and fear of losing the lover keep us from accepting their love.

When we accept our own weaknesses, we can allow ourselves to be loved, and then we have peace. We have a home. Family is just the love that stays and forgives.