Tonight will be a celebration of life, a celebration of all those brave men and women who tackled a dangerous advisary and won. And it will be a tribute to those who fought a courageous battle against an enemy they couldn’t defeat.

But as Sampson County’s annual Relay for Life gets under way later this evening, the enemy will be the target of the support, love and faith that will be exhibited in every song sung, every testimonial given, every mile walked and every dollar raised.

That enemy — cancer — will hear its name called, and will feel the power of thousands of people willing it cured, once and for all, as they head to their financial goal and their ultimate prayer — that their children and their grandchildren won’t have to fear a disease that has impacted so many lives right here in our own county.

Hearing cancer survivors tell their stories of struggle, faith, hope and the renewal of life born out of the clutches of death, we can feel the courage, respect the strength and applaud the fight.

The admiration we feel for every person who has fought cancer’s battle and won is immeasurable; the prayers for their continued recovery and remission heartfelt and said often.

Those feelings are only matched by the respect and love we feel for those families who have lost loved ones to cancer. We know their battles, we understand the pain that seems unceasing and we share their loss, knowing that though they didn’t have the disease themselves, they felt the fear, the pain and the struggle as clearly as their loved one.

And tonight, we know they are celebrating their loved ones’ brave battle even as they mourn the loss.

We celebrate with them, and we mourn with them, too.

Tonight’s Relay will be about emotions. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you might even pump your hand in the air in celebration, and as a war cry, an alert to this disease that we are on the battle field, we are determined and one day we will win.

One day we will win this battle with cancer. If determination has anything to do with it, we will win. If faith has anything to do with it, we will win. If love has anything to do with it, we will win. If support has anything to do with it, we will win.

As you participate in this year’s Relay — as a walker or an observer — as you watch the survivors take their walk and see the luminaries being lighted and feel the strength that will grow stronger as the night grows longer, it will become apparent that while the battle is an uphill one, and while the skirmishes can be tough and ungiving, the war will be ours to win.

Faith is on our side, love is our guide and determination is our shield.

We will win this war with cancer. Tonight will prove it so.