Troubles in your life?

Dear Ladies,
Recently I received news that a friend had cancer. It was news that hit like a brick thrown to the head! It hurt and I wondered, why, why her? Perhaps you don't have cancer but you have other "news of some illness" that hurts and you've wondered, why?
A few days after hearing the news an unrelated friend sent me an article by John Piper called:
"Don't waste your cancer." He had 10 points he wanted to make on the subject since he was undergoing surgery for cancer that he was dealing with. I was interested because here was someone with experience!
After reading his article it came to me that what he had written would apply to any sort of illness or hurt in our lives.
Here are the 10 statements he made......you will have to google the article if you'd like to read his explanation behind each one. (Please note I have added my own wording as well in Italic.
1) You will waste your cancer or your pain if you do not believe it is designed for you by God.
2) You will waste your cancer or your pain if you believe it is a curse and not a gift.
3) You will waste your cancer or your pain if you seek comfort from your odds rather than from God.
4) You will waste your cancer or your pain if you refuse to think about death.
5) You will waste your cancer or your pain if you think that "beating" cancer means staying alive rather than cherishing Christ.
6) You will waste your cancer or your pain if you spend too much time reading about cancer and not enough time reading about God.
7) You will waste your cancer or your pain if you let it drive you into solitude instead of deepen your relationships with manifest affection.
8) You will waste your cancer or your pain if you grieve as those who have no hope.
9) You will waste your cancer or your pain if you treat sin as casually as before.
10) You will waste your cancer or your pain if you fail to use it as a means of witness to the truth and glory of Christ.

John 11:4 "When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. Not it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it."

When we are ill, when are loved ones are ill, when we are in pain for any reason.....are we able to look to the Lord, draw strength from the Lord, live so that He gets the glory? Are we able to draw closer and closer to Him during these difficult times? Difficulties can and should be for His glory otherwise we waste the pain.