Resources

Voices of Hope & Healing
for Bone Marrow/Stem Cell Transplant

You Will Feel the Rain on Your Face Again
by Stewart Francke

So your body has betrayed you,
But it's gonna work out fine.
The angels gather round
And throw you down a line.
Don't despair.
Don't give in.
You will feel the rain on your face again.
Someday,
You will feel the rain on your face again.

I'm not just Stewart Francke anymore. Because I chose to live, and I was blessed and allowed to live, I'm Stewart Francke, leukemia and transplant survivor. As hard as I've fought to resist it, this entire experience has become the defining event in my life.

Why do we try with such furious effort – to live through cancer, to get well? Because of life I guess, because of love ... because life is so full of magic, and the world is still such a magnificent place.

Happiness seems like a quality forever at our fingertips; yet we often take it for granted and find ourselves without it. How do we make the most of it while the lights are on? What can you count on in a slippery and uncertain world? During a stem cell transplant, there's a lot to be said for just hangin' in there. Three cheers for mindless persistence.

The biggest lessons I came away with are, first – Don't waste a minute or a word. Do what you need to do and want to do. Love who you need and want to love and let them know you love them, again and again. Separation between us is an illusion. The reality is that, while we often seem like strangers, we're bound by love and mortality, dependent upon one another and always significant in our anonymity. Find purpose in your work. Even in our darkest moments, we hope. Some of you may currently be in the midst of your darkest moment ... it's now your job to find hope. Somehow, find hope. Keep the faith. I, for one, am about to exhale.

Excerpts from Between The Ground & God, Lyrics, Essays & Interviews 1990-2005 by Stewart Francke. Ridgeway Press, 2005.

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