For some odd reason, I never believed something this scary, difficult, and emotionally difficult would even come close to my family, close friends, or even the people around me. But it did. And it chose to attack the person closest to me. The one who held me in her womb for 9 months. My supporter, my rock, and my role model. My mom. Now, when my family sat my sister and I down and told us the devastating news, everyone had tears in their eyes, but all I could do was stare into the abyss. I couldn't possibly understand and process what I had just heard. My sister, crying and clearly emotional, had a look in her eyes as she stared at me with disappointment, as if I had done something wrong, but I truly could not shed real tears at the moment. Hearing that my mom had cancer made my heart drop. I felt scared. Helpless. Everything felt so unknown. Still, I kept reminding myself how strong my mom is and all the things she has already overcome in her life. "This is just one more". Later that night, I cried myself to sleep. A few weeks passed. My family and I made it our first priority to care for and support our mom through this long, scary, and challenging journey. The first few months consisted of finding her a new diet and supplements that could help reduce the growth of the cancer. Anything that could help her fight as best she could. But most importantly, my family covered her in prayer, holding on to the faith that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, would heal her and make her healthy once more. አምላክ ሆይ እባክህ ይህ ለሥጋዬ መድኃኒት እንዲሆን ፍቀድልኝ ቃልህም ለነፍሴ መድኃኒት ይሁን። ኣሜን. O God please allow this to be medicine for my body and Your Words to be medicine for my soul. Amen. This is and continues to be the prayer that got my mom and our family through it all. Through God’s grace, my mom had been diagnosed with stage 1 HER2 positive breast cancer, the lowest stage. That is just a small snippet of what we had faced, but I want to pause here, and focus on the one factor that was our firm foundation: our faith. All my family and friends are part of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Christian faith. Throughout all that we had faced, our faith led me from simply believing in God to truly knowing that God is good. I began to understand that He works through our struggles to shape us and strengthen us (Romans 5:3). Even in moments of fear and uncertainty, I started to see that challenges can build courage, perseverance, and trust in Him. Watching my mom’s faith during this time inspired me deeply. Even after receiving the scariest news of her life, her foundation remained firm in Christ. She continued to pray, trust, and place everything in God’s hands. Her faith made me realize something I will carry with me for the rest of my life: God is always with us and will never leave or forsake us. Rather, He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds! (Psalms 147:3). My mom is now living happily, cancer free and at peace with God. Through every struggle, trial, and moment of fear, all that He asks of us is to remain faithful and true. "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6.