麻豆约拍

鈥業 love you more than insulin.鈥� So ran the last line of my 19 year old son, Tian鈥檚, touchingly appreciative birthday greeting to his Dad this week. It鈥檚 not your average anniversary salutation yet it spoke volumes to Chris. We need insulin to control our blood sugar levels. As a Type 1 diabetic Tian鈥檚 body can鈥檛 make it. To stay alive he鈥檚 been injecting artificial insulin four times a day since he became ill at the age of 8. There鈥檚 no cure, but the injections mean he can live life to the full - something the gospels say we鈥檙e all called to do. Tian鈥檚 comparison of love and insulin caught my imagination. Like insulin love is life-giving. It enables us to stand tall, open up and open out. When we鈥檙e down it lifts us. When we鈥檙e lost in life鈥檚 complexity and confusions, love finds us and helps us get back on track. When we get out of balance and behave 鈥榦ff the wall鈥� it helps restore equilibrium so we can break self-destructive behaviour patterns. Like insulin, love can鈥檛 work unless we鈥檙e open to its power in our lives. At times Tian has struggled with the discipline of using insulin. Occasionally he鈥檚 forgotten an injection and, as a result, has become ill, sometimes life-threateningly so. Love too, has its disciplines. The people in my life who鈥檝e loved me no matter what, have given me the safe space to get to grips with all that makes me less than human in my thoughts and actions, and to recognise and respond more effectively when I鈥檓 in self-destruct mode. At such times their love might feel constraining or challenging and I react against it, just as Tian sometimes kicks against his need for insulin. But the love remains, waiting quietly, however difficult I am, until I鈥檓 able to see what a fool I鈥檓 being. None of us are perfect people but love is what enables us to live and work with our imperfections and to make the most of our lives. As Tian noted in his special birthday greeting to Chris, it鈥檚 a priceless gift worth celebrating.