You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord
Who abide in His shadow for life
Say to the Lord: "My refuge
My Rock in whom I trust!"
Refrain:
And He will raise you up on eagle's wings
Bear you on the breath of dawn
Make you to shine like the sun
And hold you in the palm of His hand
You need not fear the terror of the night
nor the arrow that flies by day
Under His wings your refuge
His faithfulness your shield
For to His angels He's given a command
To guard you in all of your ways
Upon their hands they will bear you up
Lest you dash your foot against a stone
Refrain:
And He will raise you up on eagle's wings
Bear you on the breath of dawn
Make you to shine like the sun
And hold you in the palm of His hand
by Mickey Clees
I saw a Bald Eagle today! I SAW A BALD EAGLE TODAY!!
When I was a child I didn�t know people could actually SEE a bald eagle anywhere except in a zoo - if you were lucky - or on some government papers or pictures - like money or on the TV.
When I was a teenager I was too self-involved, as we all were in the 60's, to care about anything but my own angst.
As an adult with an 11 year old son I knew full well that some very fortunate people DID see bald eagles in the wild. I couldn�t even imagine how wonderful that must have been for them. We had occasion to be at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison in Colorado at that time on vacation and the people around me said, �Oh, see the eagle!!� I looked but was too late - the majestic creature was gone. However it was only a golden eagle -- MY quest was to see the supreme king of eagles - the bald eagle.
A year later while I was attending a week long BSA sponsored management course called Wood Badge, I learned that in the woods where we were - in the western part of the lower peninsula of Michigan near Lake Michigan - there were supposed to be nesting bald eagles. People had seen them just the week before I got there. I never did see them myself.
That was in 1981. Late in February of 1997, I was in Tucson, AZ at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and got to see a beautiful golden eagle in a huge cage. He was sitting on a branch with his wings spread out just a little. It was a very cold and windy day and he was �catching some rays� to warm up. I wanted to join him. Though he was gorgeous and wonderful, he still was not a Bald Eagle - and besides he wasn�t flying free.
At Easter in 1998 we were in Phoenix again and were visiting Montezuma�s Castle near Oak Creek Canyon. I spied a huge bird taking flight from above the ruins. �Eagle!� screamed my soul. My husband said no, it was a buzzard. My soul sank - my heart, that had taken flight along with the huge bird, sunk to the depths of another missed opportunity.
Today as we were driving across the Meander - HE was there!! I had heard that there were supposed to be Bald Eagles nesting in the pristine land surrounding the Meander Reservoir in Northeast Ohio near my home. Land forbidden to human contact - excepting for it�s caretakers. Land that is exciting in it�s primitiveness. But he was REALLY there! Soaring across the water in search of prey or something else unfathomable.
Could it REALLY be a bald eagle?? He was huge -- his head and neck, all the way down to his shoulders, were white -- his head the shape of all the thousand�s of bald eagles that have looked out at me in pictures with their fierce eyes throughout my life. My heart soared and skipped many beats. My life stood still. Much too quickly it was over and we were beyond his flight path. My husband discounted my vision - but he too came to the conclusion that must have been what it was. I have no doubt at all - with all the certainty of my being, it WAS a Bald Eagle - in all his majestic splendor - soaring and free.
I didn�t cry at the time - I was just so very excited to have a dream come true - a lifetime wish, though never uttered to a living soul, finally come true. As I sit here now I find myself holding back the tears - and thanking God for allowing me to see one of His most majestic creatures.
What other unfilled dreams lie lingering in my soul? Well - there is always the dream of the NEXT time I get to see God�s magnificent Bald Eagle - soaring across a lake or a mountain or a forest. Wonderfully fierce - elusive and free. And utterly magnificent!
June 20, 1998
Recently in national and local news stories it has been announced that the Federal Government has removed Bald Eagles from the Endangered List. Not so in Ohio - they have elected to keep the Bald Eagle on the Ohio �endangered� list, for the time being. I can only say that this news thrills and terrifies me at the same time. For if they are now flying free and multiplying and repopulating this country with their fierce and wonderful presence - then will humanity REMEMBER the nearly devastating loss we averted by placing them on the �Endangered Species List� in the first place? Humanity has a way of taking things for granted. I only hope that Ohio�s conservative approach helps guarantee that many, many generations of people may also get to see a Bald Eagle in flight as I have been fortunate enough to do. And perhaps my chances of seeing another are better than ever!
July 12, 1999
