Love and Illness

I visited a very good friend at a hospital this morning with gifts that Min bought for her and her husband from Netherlands. I also shared with them the organic sesames and organic nuts harvested from my parents-in-law’s farm in China. Even though this friend is seriously ill, she keeps her dignity and grace. Her husband’s gentle love and devoted care to her is so distinct in such difficult time.

I am not only deeply touched by my friend’s faith and resilience to fight the dreadful disease, but also moved by her husband’s love and dedication to her. In her youth, my friend was a beauty and pursued by many young men. She made the right choice to marry her husband. After more than 40 years of marriage, their love still goes strong. Their affectionate relationship reminds me of Yeats’ poem “When You Are Old”:
“……How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true;
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face……”
(……多少人爱你年轻欢畅的时候，
爱慕你的美丽，假意或真心地，
只有一个人爱你那朝圣者的灵魂，
爱你已改的容颜所呈现出的哀伤……)

As what expressed in "Love's Sorrow" and "Love's Joy" composed by Austrian musician Fritz Kreisler, love is not a monotonous melody, but the sorrow and joy interspersed Concerto. May God bless this wonderful couple with many more years ahead.