I took this picture last week, holding my dad’s hand while he had a rare moment of sleep when he was staying in the hospital.

The last couple of weeks have been incredibly turbulent, to say the least. Hearing the news that my dad has pancreatic cancer was shocking. Seeing him battle the pain from the cancer, and multiple procedures he’s had has been nothing short of heart-wrenching.

I took this picture because, in that moment I knew as long as I held on and dad held on, we were holding on to hope.

See, my dad is a fighter.  He’s not one to give up, or let anything stop him. He is the strongest person I’ve known. I’ve witnessed him stand strong through some incredibly tough times.

Think about it. He raised me.

My dad has taught me by his actions and his words that God will carry us through any storm we face. Not to say that the outcome is always as we plan, but God will not abandon us. And all of my life I have had the opportunity to see how God has been faithful to my dad, to my mom, to our whole family.

Life gets stormy sometimes. Really big waves try to knock us down, take our focus from where it should be. The disciples had a moment where they thought all was lost. A moment when they forgot who to trust….but then, after calling out to him, assuming they were sunk without his intervening…Jesus calmed the storm.

I have waves tattooed around my wrist with the words “Peace Be Still” as a reminder for exactly these difficult times in life. I need the reminder to have faith. I need to remember to give up focusing on my fears…

And most importantly, I need to remember to hold on to hope. The kind of hope that can only be found in Jesus.

Please pray for my dad. Pray that he will be strengthened. Pray that miracles will happen, so that he can be an even bigger testimony to all that God is capable of doing.