On Eagles Wings
By Cynthia LaFreniere
January 2001
Back in October I had an incredible experience which I would like to share with you. I've been trying to figure out the best way to do that, and finally came to the conclusion that the only way to do it was to tell it just like it happened. On the morning of October 12th, I was driving to work.
As usual, I was praying and listening to praise and worship music. We live out in the country, so most of the roads are quiet with little traffic and woods on both sides. Getting closer to work, I felt prompted to pray for myself, as I was due to have a procedure done on my back in a few days. The procedure involved inserting two wires, and wrapping them around two of my disks. Then the wires are heated up and left there until they had melted my disks. Afterwords I would be in a brace for 6 months. I wasn't looking forward to it at all. The whole idea scared me, and I'm not into pain! It was only after a lot of prayer that I had decided to go ahead and have the procedure done. I really felt it was what the Lord wanted me to do, so I was determined to obey. So I began to pray, asking the Lord to divinely guide the doctor, the staff and everyone who would be involved in the procedure, and to use it to bring about a total healing of my back.
No sooner had I gotten those words out of my mouth, than I saw a large bird lift up off the ground on the left side of the road. The bird flew toward my car and landed with wings outstretched, on the hood in front of the windshield.
It was a huge and magnificent eagle! I couldn't believe it! All I could say was "Oh Wow Lord!" It was as if time stood still. What was in reality probably a second, seemed to last for several minutes. The Eagle was so close, I could make out the tiniest details of his feathers.
This seemed to last for several minutes, although I know it couldn't have. The eagle was obviously blocking my view of the road but for some reason that never occurred to me. Nor did it occur to me to be scared.
The instant the eagle landed on the hood a verse from the Bible exploded into my mind It was Isaiah 40: 31. "Those who put their 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." Seeing the eagle and the verse coming into my mind both happened simultaneously. (Although I had heard this verse before, it was not one I had committed to memory) All I could do was repeat, "Wow Lord!" and cry as my heart swelled with love and thankfulness, that God would care enough about me to send me such a mind-boggling sign. Then the eagle lifted and flew off to the right.
I spent the rest of the ride to work praising the Lord! By the end of the workday however, doubts were entering my mind. I couldn't possibly have seen what I saw; but I did! It couldn't have really been an eagle, it must have been some other kind of bird--one found in abundance in our area.
I decided to look up birds on the Internet when I got home. After all, I'd had a very close up view of the bird so I'd definitely be able to identify a picture of it! I figured the easiest way to do it, would be to rule out eagles right off the bat, so I looked them up and found some close up pictures of them. Much to my continued amazement, I discovered that it really had been an eagle!
I of course I thanked the Lord all over again- and asked Him to forgive me for my doubts! The following week I went in to have the procedure done. When I was out from under the anesthesia, the doctor told me that everything had gone very well. He said it was really strange though because when he went to wrap the wires around my disks, it was like someone was inside of me guiding the wires for him! He said nothing like that had ever happened to him before! Since the procedure, I have healed very quickly, not even needing the narcotic pain relievers after the first two weeks! The doctor continues to be amazed at my recovery, saying they have never had anyone do so well. God has indeed renewed my strength, and my hope continues to be in Him. It is my prayer that the Lord will use this testimony to bring you hope and encouragement. May God Bless you always. Sincerely. Cindy
October 2001
Since writing this in January, I have had some major setbacks in my recovery. The Lord has continued to assure me of His love and that He will heal me. He just hasn't said when, and I realize it might not be until I get to heaven. Whenever I begin to feel depressed or upset about the continuing pain, I remember the eagle, and think now that perhaps this is why the Lord sent me such an amazing sign. In His wisdom, He knew I would need something like that to keep my faith and spirits up. What a good God we have! He is such a good and loving Father! I also confess that I have become much closer to Him throughout this experience. I don't think that would have happened if I had been healed immediately. I admit that I have been a stubborn and very active person, so all good intentions aside, I truly don't think I would have taken the time to study the Word, pray and worship any where near as much as I have, if I had been able to go back to work and lead a normal life right away. I have come to trust and believe my heavenly Father and know that He will do what He has said, and that He knows what is best for me. Therefore, I thank and praise Him for all He has taught me and shown me during this time, and look forward expectantly every day for the good gifts He gives me.
Now I too can relate and say Amen to these verses:
Daniel 3:17 "If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18. "But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.''
1 Peter 1:6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ
My faith does not "require the Lord to heal me. I will worship, praise and trust Him regardless of that! He IS Good, all the time!!!!!
March 2002
After my initial quick recovery, my back began to get worse. Even more disks became herniated and began degenerating, causing me a great deal of pain. At first I kept asking the Lord to keep His promise and heal me as He said He would. Finally I heard His reply. He never said He would heal me physically—just that He would be with me and turn all things for my good. He had also given me the last part of this verse when I first hurt my back: Daniel 12:13 "; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.'' So I knew I was supposed to “rest” and not worry about working or money etc. (Talk about a hard lesson to learn!) The Lord reminded me of all I had learned since being injured; of the great deal of time I now spent reading His word and in prayer; of all the deep emotional wounds He had been healing in me during this time. I knew that none of this would have happened if I was healthy and able to work. I would have been too busy. I feel the Lord sent that eagle to be a reminder to me of His constant love, so I would have something tangible to hold onto as time went on, and I wasn’t “healed” from the physical problems.
December 2008:
I learned many years ago that when the Lord said He would heal me that he wasn't just referring to my physical body, although that is what I took it to mean at first. Instead the Lord has healed my spirit and soul, my heart and my emotions. He has built me up in Himself and given me more then I could have ever asked for through a much closer relationship with Him. I wouldn't trade that for a healed body, no matter how much money someone offered me! The eagle He sent me however has always been something that I could hold on to when I was in pain, to remember without a doubt that the Lord is indeed with me, that He loves me, and that all things will be worked together by Him for my good. Thank You Lord!
May 2012
Isaiah 40: 31. "Those who put their 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."
Before my hope was in being healed, in what I wanted, not what He wanted and not just Him. He wanted me to put my hope in Him...for all things, not just having the pain stop. And because of that pain, I've learned to trust Him and that the things we see in this life as "bad" aren't always really "bad" at all. Instead, they can actually be good. Through the daily pain, I've come to know and trust my Lord completely and I get closer to Him every day. I have to rely on Him, because there is no human that can help me and I certainly cannot help myself. Reading back over this, I've seen even more clearly how much He's taught me over these years and how far I've come from where I was. I can't begin to thank Him enough for all the changes He's made in me and all the ways He's healed me both emotionally and spiritually. No, there's been no physical healing--in fact my physical problems continue to get worse; but because of them and because I've learned to rely on Him, I can now comfort others who live with pain. He's given me wonderful resources to help as I study His Word with Him every day and I had to laugh when I looked up what the commentaries said about the verse He'd given me:
There is a general principle here that patient, praying believers are blessed by God with strength in their trials (cf. 2 Corinthians 12:8–10 — Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.). The MacArthur study Bible
The word “renew” means “to exchange,” as taking off old clothes and putting on new. We exchange our weakness for His power (2 Cor. 12:1–10). As we wait before Him, God enables us to soar when there is a crisis, to run when the challenges are many, and to walk faithfully in the day-by-day demands of life. It is much harder to walk in the ordinary pressures of life than to fly like the eagle in a time of crisis. Be comforted. An Old Testament study.
All I can say to that is, Amen and thank You Lord!
By Cynthia LaFreniere
January 2001
Back in October I had an incredible experience which I would like to share with you. I've been trying to figure out the best way to do that, and finally came to the conclusion that the only way to do it was to tell it just like it happened. On the morning of October 12th, I was driving to work.
As usual, I was praying and listening to praise and worship music. We live out in the country, so most of the roads are quiet with little traffic and woods on both sides. Getting closer to work, I felt prompted to pray for myself, as I was due to have a procedure done on my back in a few days. The procedure involved inserting two wires, and wrapping them around two of my disks. Then the wires are heated up and left there until they had melted my disks. Afterwords I would be in a brace for 6 months. I wasn't looking forward to it at all. The whole idea scared me, and I'm not into pain! It was only after a lot of prayer that I had decided to go ahead and have the procedure done. I really felt it was what the Lord wanted me to do, so I was determined to obey. So I began to pray, asking the Lord to divinely guide the doctor, the staff and everyone who would be involved in the procedure, and to use it to bring about a total healing of my back.
No sooner had I gotten those words out of my mouth, than I saw a large bird lift up off the ground on the left side of the road. The bird flew toward my car and landed with wings outstretched, on the hood in front of the windshield.
It was a huge and magnificent eagle! I couldn't believe it! All I could say was "Oh Wow Lord!" It was as if time stood still. What was in reality probably a second, seemed to last for several minutes. The Eagle was so close, I could make out the tiniest details of his feathers.
This seemed to last for several minutes, although I know it couldn't have. The eagle was obviously blocking my view of the road but for some reason that never occurred to me. Nor did it occur to me to be scared.
The instant the eagle landed on the hood a verse from the Bible exploded into my mind It was Isaiah 40: 31. "Those who put their 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." Seeing the eagle and the verse coming into my mind both happened simultaneously. (Although I had heard this verse before, it was not one I had committed to memory) All I could do was repeat, "Wow Lord!" and cry as my heart swelled with love and thankfulness, that God would care enough about me to send me such a mind-boggling sign. Then the eagle lifted and flew off to the right.
I spent the rest of the ride to work praising the Lord! By the end of the workday however, doubts were entering my mind. I couldn't possibly have seen what I saw; but I did! It couldn't have really been an eagle, it must have been some other kind of bird--one found in abundance in our area.
I decided to look up birds on the Internet when I got home. After all, I'd had a very close up view of the bird so I'd definitely be able to identify a picture of it! I figured the easiest way to do it, would be to rule out eagles right off the bat, so I looked them up and found some close up pictures of them. Much to my continued amazement, I discovered that it really had been an eagle!
I of course I thanked the Lord all over again- and asked Him to forgive me for my doubts! The following week I went in to have the procedure done. When I was out from under the anesthesia, the doctor told me that everything had gone very well. He said it was really strange though because when he went to wrap the wires around my disks, it was like someone was inside of me guiding the wires for him! He said nothing like that had ever happened to him before! Since the procedure, I have healed very quickly, not even needing the narcotic pain relievers after the first two weeks! The doctor continues to be amazed at my recovery, saying they have never had anyone do so well. God has indeed renewed my strength, and my hope continues to be in Him. It is my prayer that the Lord will use this testimony to bring you hope and encouragement. May God Bless you always. Sincerely. Cindy
October 2001Since writing this in January, I have had some major setbacks in my recovery. The Lord has continued to assure me of His love and that He will heal me. He just hasn't said when, and I realize it might not be until I get to heaven. Whenever I begin to feel depressed or upset about the continuing pain, I remember the eagle, and think now that perhaps this is why the Lord sent me such an amazing sign. In His wisdom, He knew I would need something like that to keep my faith and spirits up. What a good God we have! He is such a good and loving Father! I also confess that I have become much closer to Him throughout this experience. I don't think that would have happened if I had been healed immediately. I admit that I have been a stubborn and very active person, so all good intentions aside, I truly don't think I would have taken the time to study the Word, pray and worship any where near as much as I have, if I had been able to go back to work and lead a normal life right away. I have come to trust and believe my heavenly Father and know that He will do what He has said, and that He knows what is best for me. Therefore, I thank and praise Him for all He has taught me and shown me during this time, and look forward expectantly every day for the good gifts He gives me.
Now I too can relate and say Amen to these verses:
Daniel 3:17 "If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18. "But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.''
1 Peter 1:6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ
My faith does not "require the Lord to heal me. I will worship, praise and trust Him regardless of that! He IS Good, all the time!!!!!
March 2002After my initial quick recovery, my back began to get worse. Even more disks became herniated and began degenerating, causing me a great deal of pain. At first I kept asking the Lord to keep His promise and heal me as He said He would. Finally I heard His reply. He never said He would heal me physically—just that He would be with me and turn all things for my good. He had also given me the last part of this verse when I first hurt my back: Daniel 12:13 "; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.'' So I knew I was supposed to “rest” and not worry about working or money etc. (Talk about a hard lesson to learn!) The Lord reminded me of all I had learned since being injured; of the great deal of time I now spent reading His word and in prayer; of all the deep emotional wounds He had been healing in me during this time. I knew that none of this would have happened if I was healthy and able to work. I would have been too busy. I feel the Lord sent that eagle to be a reminder to me of His constant love, so I would have something tangible to hold onto as time went on, and I wasn’t “healed” from the physical problems.
December 2008: I learned many years ago that when the Lord said He would heal me that he wasn't just referring to my physical body, although that is what I took it to mean at first. Instead the Lord has healed my spirit and soul, my heart and my emotions. He has built me up in Himself and given me more then I could have ever asked for through a much closer relationship with Him. I wouldn't trade that for a healed body, no matter how much money someone offered me! The eagle He sent me however has always been something that I could hold on to when I was in pain, to remember without a doubt that the Lord is indeed with me, that He loves me, and that all things will be worked together by Him for my good. Thank You Lord!
May 2012Isaiah 40: 31. "Those who put their 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."
Before my hope was in being healed, in what I wanted, not what He wanted and not just Him. He wanted me to put my hope in Him...for all things, not just having the pain stop. And because of that pain, I've learned to trust Him and that the things we see in this life as "bad" aren't always really "bad" at all. Instead, they can actually be good. Through the daily pain, I've come to know and trust my Lord completely and I get closer to Him every day. I have to rely on Him, because there is no human that can help me and I certainly cannot help myself. Reading back over this, I've seen even more clearly how much He's taught me over these years and how far I've come from where I was. I can't begin to thank Him enough for all the changes He's made in me and all the ways He's healed me both emotionally and spiritually. No, there's been no physical healing--in fact my physical problems continue to get worse; but because of them and because I've learned to rely on Him, I can now comfort others who live with pain. He's given me wonderful resources to help as I study His Word with Him every day and I had to laugh when I looked up what the commentaries said about the verse He'd given me:
There is a general principle here that patient, praying believers are blessed by God with strength in their trials (cf. 2 Corinthians 12:8–10 — Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.). The MacArthur study Bible
The word “renew” means “to exchange,” as taking off old clothes and putting on new. We exchange our weakness for His power (2 Cor. 12:1–10). As we wait before Him, God enables us to soar when there is a crisis, to run when the challenges are many, and to walk faithfully in the day-by-day demands of life. It is much harder to walk in the ordinary pressures of life than to fly like the eagle in a time of crisis. Be comforted. An Old Testament study.
All I can say to that is, Amen and thank You Lord!
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