It’s Thursday morning in Ralph, Alabama, and a family so many of us now feel connected to is bracing for two long days of scans, waiting, and worry. Our friends are walking into one of the hardest chapters yet — and they don’t walk alone.
Fourteen-year-old Will Roberts is fighting bone cancer, a battle that has already asked more of a child than should ever be required. His last scans, taken a month ago, delivered difficult news. Now, once again, everything pauses as doctors look for answers.
On the eve of these scans, Will’s mom, Brittney Roberts, shared a deeply moving reflection — one she graciously allowed to be shared.
She wrote of exhaustion, of fear, and of a simple but desperate prayer: not even for a cure this time, but for the cancer to stop spreading. She wrote of walking into church late, still in her work uniform, feeling out of place — and of the moment her son leaned over and said, “Mom, I’m going to go up to the altar and pray.”
As Brittney placed her hand on Will’s back, something changed. Instead of praying only for her own child, her heart was drawn to another mother’s son — someone she never expected to pray for, someone whose suffering looks different but hurts just as deeply. In that moment, she says, God softened her heart and reminded her who she is called to be.
Her words carry the weight every parent of a sick child understands — the fear, the guilt, the love, and the grace that comes when hearts are broken open.
As Will faces scans over the next two days, our hope is simple: that he and his parents, Brittney and Jason Roberts, receive good news. And that every parent walking a similar road feels the support, prayers, and compassion surrounding them.
Sometimes faith is strong.
Sometimes it’s hard.
And sometimes, it’s both at once.
Photo courtesy of Brittney Roberts.
