Isaiah40:31

"But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

This verse is so bittersweet to me and it has made it's way to me so many times in the last week...twice in devotionals and once during worship at church. Although I am encouraged by this verse, I have just recently found the strength to say it aloud without breaking down. This was the verse that the pastor referred to at my dad's funeral nearly 4 years ago. My dad was a pilot and loved to fly...which was partially why he used this scripture. Several times we would fly to Indy or Cold Water, MI, just to go out for lunch. Kaicee and Breck were both able to fly with him in his plane before he passed away, although Breck was too young to remember it. I have pictures of Kaicee with my dad by his plane. Before my stepmom sold it after his death, we were able to go and take pictures of it and of the girls sitting in the cockpit. I cherish these pictures and have some of them hanging in our family room along with one of his flight maps.

With that said, this verse does a number on my emotions! How encouraging to know that God will see us through. He can and will give us the strenth we need to get through our tough times...and He came thru on His promise during this hard time in my life. For those of you who don't know, my dad's death was VERY unexpected. He had suffered a heart attack over the weekend but we were reassured by his nurse that he would be home by the end of the week...2 hours later, we were called back to the hospital. Not able to find the rest of our family, my sister and I ran to his room. The picture I saw is something I will NEVER forget. We were too late...and never got to say good-bye. That was the hardest thing I've ever had to go through. I was daddy's little girl and he would always be daddy to me, no matter how old I was.

It was hard to lose him for obvious reasons...I would no longer hear his all familiar greeting "Hey kiddo!" every time I walked into his house or feel his scruffy beard on my cheek as he gave me the biggest, tighest squeeze every time I saw him. Not to mention the fact Kaicee and Breck would more than likely forget him becuase they were so young or that little Taylor would never even have the chance to meet him (I found out I was pregnant with her 2 months after he passed away). More than all of these things was the lingering heartache that he was not a Christ follower.

Through the hard days ahead, I found strength exactly as God promised I would. As my brother, sister, and I prepared for and then attended the funeral of our dad we were encouraged by pictures and stories that were shared with us by so many people. The most precious to us was this: As a young boy, my dad made sure he was at church every Sunday morning even if it meant riding his bike by himself. He knew who Christ was! After losing his dad his senior year in high school and three months later burying his mom on his graduation day, he became very bitter and walked away from all he knew. What's encouraging about this is that two nights before my dad died, he very willingly allowed Brooks, myself, and my sister to pray over him. I believe he was able to make things right with God before he passed away. I also believe with all my heart that God knew He must take him Home then.

Although we will go through hard times in this life, we must be encouraged by the good that comes out of them. It is still very hard to believe that my dad is gone but I find strength trusting that God knew what He had to do to bring my dad home. I also know that we have our little "Taytor bug" only because of this emotional rollercoaster I went through, causing my hormones to go completely out of whack!

Eagles can soar above the storms and so can we when we put our faith in Him!