Loving someone means not giving up

Sometimes the people we love hurt us. We offer ourselves and our love to them, and they push us away. Sometimes people are so hard to love. We think in our heads "Forget it, I give up!". We want to just turn our backs, walk away and not look back. Sometimes this is family. Sometimes a beloved friend. Sometimes a spouse. We know that psychologists say sometimes when people are at their worst, is when they need our love most. But how hard is it to love someone at their worst? It's down right difficult! It's so easy to love people at their best. A (very wise) friend told me that if there were no tribulations in life, there would be no growth. To embrace these problems as a way to grow and know that we WILL grow from them. She is one of the wisest women I know (A real Proverbs 31 woman).
Teenagers are sometimes the hardest to get through to. They are your babies, but all grown up and trying to break every barrier to be independent. Yet they are too naive to real dangers and heart aches this world has to offer. And so we offer our love, our advice, our experiences to help them on their way. And sometimes this effort is met with defense, eye rolling, and distance. We get pushed away. We are confused. Do we retreat? Give up? Back off? Or do we proceed forth with our love? We stand firm. We continue to offer our love and support, never backing down. It's hard and sometimes even lonely. It's not met half way at all times, sometimes we need to go all the way. But loving someone means not giving up. It's like the book "Fireproof", if you have read that (if not I highly recommend it) - http://www.fireproofmymarriage.com/ - it says it's for marriage, but it can be applied to any relationship. You don't give up. You are the rock, standing firm and always there for that person. Pray for them. Pray for yourself. And if you need a little extra help, look at this -
1 Corinthians 13:4–8a
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails ...
1 John 4:8
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Ephesians 4:2
"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."
1 John 4:19
"We love because he first loved us."

Peace be with you!