I cry when I hear that someone I know has been diagnosed with cancer. I can't help it. It just happens. Somehow all the pain and discomfort, physical and emotional, come up into my heart in a concentrated mass and push tears from my eyes. I don’t want to cry in front of them, but it happens.

It's easy to pick out the new patients in the oncology waiting area. They are bent over a clipboard stacked with hundreds of questions, as if they didn't have enough questions of their own. The person sitting close to them is trying not to look nervous, but their bouncing foot gives them away. I feel for them. The unknown is the hardest. They don't know if they have what it takes to get through the trial before them.

They don't know yet how strong they really are.

They also don't know all the good that is going to come from their situation. They haven't felt, yet, the intense love from friends, family, and even strangers. They have no idea how much they will learn that will potentially bring them closer to God and make them better people.

Oh, if I could only wrap them in my arms and tell them: Great things await you! You will grow. You will begin to understand so many things about people and life. You will develop more in your talents and character. Eventually, you will even thank God for the incredible blessings that will come because of this trial.

And you will find out how strong you really are.

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