Just as night and day are inseparable so are joy and suffering. The ‘slings and arrows of outrageous fortune’ as Shakespeare once called them are an inescapable part of life. While all too many become crushed by suffering others become ennobled with their souls having blossomed in the process. We can see how it recreates some souls and gives them the face of Christ. We ask what is that courage that enables people to suffer so well? What is it that makes some able to embrace suffering in such a way that they are lifted up rather than crushed? What is this seed of mysterious energy that is planted in all our hearts? Some learn to embrace suffering in a way that makes it beautiful while others allow it to embitter them. Yet we are all formed out of the same kind of clay. What makes us so different? The level of support we have coming through a difficult time has to be a factor but at a deeper level could it come down to our attitude of whether we accept our crosses with love or reject them with distain? The cross has the potential to either make or break us.