Every time I drive from my home in a Minneapolis suburb to my daughter’s home in Southeast Minnesota, I look for eagles. The drive takes me along the Mississippi River where,  even in the midst of winter, the force of the Chippewa River merging into the Mississippi creates a place of open water in the ice. It is where eagles gather.

At least, that’s what I expected last week when I started looking for eagles, on my trip to my daughters. It’s not that I usually look for signs from God. It’s just that after 22 years of this drive, I expect to see an eagle. For a reason known only to my brain and my spirituality, I’ve come to see that eagle as a sign of God’s blessing.

Eagles bring to mind, Isaiah’s words, “Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31    I think of the strength God gives  us, in moments we are discouraged, frightened, or simply worn out.

But last week was different. I was positive  I would see eagles, in that open spot of water near Reed Minnesota. I anticipated eagles diving into the river, searching for fish. Instead, I saw neither eagles nor open water.

Disappointed, a fleeting thought crossed my mind, “Maybe this trip isn’t blessed by God.” Before I had time to ponder that thought to discard it, a bald eagle took off from a field in front of my car.  It’s wings flapping broadly, as it soared into the skies.

Verses of R. Deane Postlethwaite’s song flittered in my mind:   *“The care the eagle gives her young, safe in her lofty nest, is like the tender love of God for us made manifest.”

It occurred to me that, in this past year of family losses and illnesses, God wanted me to know,  “Yes,” this journey was indeed blessed.

Postlethwaite’s song ends with these words: “And if we flutter helplessly, as fledgling eagles fall,  beneath us lift God’s mighty wings to bear us, one and all.”

*“The Care the Eagle Gives Her Young” R. Dean Postlethwaite (1980)