I have always loved the scripture in Isaiah 40:31 that says: "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Recently the image of an eagle soaring in the sky has been on my mind until I just had to paint it. Have you ever noticed that when a bird is referenced, it is "fly like a bird" , but when an eagle is referenced, it is "soar like an eagle" ? The dictionary defines soar as "to rise high up in the air" and further goes on to say "to maintain height in the air without flapping wings". 

Eagles usually fly alone at at very high altitudes. They can tell when a storm is brewing and use the winds of the storm to lift themselves higher and higher until they are above the clouds. They are so focused that they never allow any distractions to steer them off their course. Here above the clouds, they can rest their wings and just glide through the sky.

When adversity comes to us, we can either hide and seek shelter like all the other birds or we can be like the eagle, with faith in the Father above,, step forward bravely and use it as an opportunity to rise to greater heights. We can rest after we overcome the hurdle. Some journeys we need to travel alone, but the strength we need is inside us, we just need to let it out - it is a choice we must make.