Tayler Breann Huett

That sweet baby with a giant smile lit up our world and she was the best little thing. Always so content and happy and so very lovey.

As Tayler started growing up we became aware that our smiley girl was also shy... like extremely shy sometimes painfully so. Some of you may remember her peeking out from behind my leg with a little rosy cheeks and a cute little bashful grin.

When Tayler found out she would have to attend school she was devastated. She had been attending “Sissy School” her whole life already. That should have been enough. (And truthfully it probably was!) Tayler just liked being home. She would cry for the first month of each new year when I’d drop her off. There were even times she had to be physically taken from my leg.

Tayler came running up to me after the first day of sixth grade. She wrapped her arms around me and proudly said, “Momma! This is the first first day of school that I didn’t cry.” Bless her heart...it happened again in high school.

She often told me that she was going to live with me forever. And at 26 1/2 years old she pretty much did just that.

Tayler’s heart was so big and so tender. That girl loved so deeply that it just melted me. I was sitting on our front porch one day reading while my girls played. I realized Tayler was standing in front of me. She was barely four at the time. Quiet crocodile tears rolled down her face and I asked if she was OK. She nodded yes. As I started wiping her tears away I asked her to tell me what was wrong. Through sniffles, she finally answered, “I just love you so much that I don’t know what to do with it all.” We both cried then.

This would occur many times during her childhood. I was convinced only God could love me more than my Sweet Tater.

When Tayler was in fourth grade I tucked her in one night. We said our prayers and I kissed her good night. Just the normal bedtime routine. But as I started out the door she said, “Mom, how do I know I’m going to heaven?” I told her it was easy to make sure. I asked if she’d like to say a little prayer and ask God to forgive her. She nodded yes and we knelt beside her bed and prayed. When we said ‘AMEN’ she looked up at me with those beautiful eyes filled with tears. They had never been so bright. I could tell my baby had just fallen in love with Jesus.

Here was my little girl, shy, vulnerable and starting each day with heart wide-open. I could not have been more proud but at the same time my mama bear instincts kicked into overdrive. I knew I had to protect this kind of tenderness fiercely. I knew life was not always going to be kind to my daughter because her enormous heart was never meant for this world.

The harder I fought to shield that God-given innocence...so did this fallen world.

As some of you know somewhere along the way to adulthood Tayler begin to struggle. We found out a few years ago that she actually suffered with some pretty serious mental health issues. She’s been to several facilities, therapy sessions and rehabs over the last five years. One of those rehabs was Teen Challenge. Just like all those years ago she wanted to stay put. She literally went kicking and screaming. It was a difficult time. She didn’t just fall into the strict, Bible teaching and praying routine easily. But after about three months she told us she was able to surrender everything to God. The truth is she didn’t even have to tell us, we could see it. Her eyes and smile were brighter than ever. We had witnessed the most beautiful transformation. Tayler became the grown-up version of our precious little girl God had created. We saw that she had fallen back in love with Jesus.

Tayler came back home and worked ever so diligently to stay focused and overcome the untruths in her mind. She returned to us gentle and calm where anger and chaos had been running wild months earlier. She read her Bible daily and prayed faithfully but she would also have to face the mean old world again. A world that would never foster such a gift. My mama bear instincts were on high alert again as I knew the battle was waiting.

We have lived a roller coaster ride the last eight years. I know at times it seemed she was giving up or giving in but I can assure you she never did. What you saw on social media was nowhere close to the girl at home when she felt safe and loved tucked behind her momma’s leg. Tayler‘s room was filled with many devotionals with corners folded over. Her Bible was always beside her bed. I picked it up a couple days after she passed and realized just how worn it was. It was more worn than mine in fact. I was so moved and comforted by all the verses highlighted and underlined.

Back in February Tayler printed off a bunch of Bible verses and asked me to laminate them. I did and she strung them across the top of her bathroom mirror. When she had finished she called me in and showed me proudly what she had done. She said, “I want these where I can see them when I forget.”

Tayler’s favorite book of the Bible was Isaiah. With the second part of chapter 43 verse one being her go-to verse.

.... do not fear

I have redeemed you

I have called you by name.

Tayler’s mind would get lost at times but her heart was always seeking her Heavenly Father. That big contagious smile also came directly from her true hearts desire.

This world never stopped trying to steal my girls shining light. It was a battle to the very end. But Satan was no match for the God-given power that lived in her soul. On Friday evening April 23, 2021 Tayler went to get ice cream for her boys and never came back home.

Around 7:30 I put the boys in the bathtub. Liam and I were talking about having a movie night with the ice cream that momma was getting. Suddenly the lights went out. I stepped outside to find that it was a total black out.

When Tayler took her last breath on this earth over 4,000 people lost power. Her light was so bright that when she left us she sucked all the energy out of a large portion of Jacksonville, Florida for hours.

I found this verse in her prayer journal. Jonah 2:6

To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath me barred me in forever. But you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit.

We actually got to experience the moment that Tayler was pulled from the pit. Tayler died in weakness and rose in glory. And we thank you Jesus for that.

I also found several prayers she wrote in her journal a few years ago. She had no idea she was praying over the road we now must travel. This is one of those...

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for all the blessings you have given me. I praise you for all you have done and continue to do. I ask that you be with my family and surround them with peace and comfort. I pray any attacks from the devil that they stand firm and lean on you. I pray that their faith continues to grow.

The heart of Tayler was never meant for this world. We can take comfort that she is no longer in turmoil. The lies in her mind have finally stopped. She is at home where her heart always longed to be.

We all know how big and bright her smile was even with so much internal pain. Can you just imagine how radiant it is now? She is forever our sunshine.☀️

As the song goes..I can only imagine...

I can only imagine Tayler standing before the Father she adored with big crocodile tears and a smile from ear to ear saying, “I love you so much I don’t know what to do with it all.”