I glanced around the circle of friends and family gathered inside the white fence. There were many I knew, and many I did not. We had all come on behalf of Uncle Marcus who, after two and a half years of battle with leukemia, went on to his home in heaven. Our hearts were especially tender toward his sweet wife, their eight children and 11 grandchildren. The sun shone soothingly on that February afternoon in Pennsylvania.
As we sang that first song of heaven, I heard someone whisper, “There’s an eagle!” I glanced up into the brilliant blue sky and caught my breath — it was real. Overhead, a large bald eagle circled around and around. No other bird in the universe grips my attention like this majestic species. In those rare opportunities of watching them, my heart is stirred to mount up, to rise above the storms of life and, like the eagle, keep soaring higher as predators flock in.
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Gloria Yoder is the third writer of The Amish Cook column since its inception in 1991.
Dining and Cooking