PRAISE THE LORD!

 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Psalm 150:6

Between forty and fifty of us gathered to celebrate the life of our friend.  Diane passed into the arms of her Savior a while ago, but, like so many life events in these times of the pandemic, this service had been delayed. Just as our friend had been, the venue was beautiful. We were outside on a grassy lawn with multiple trees providing abundant shade. A variety of colorful flowers had been artfully arranged in garden beds all around us, and gorgeous roses emanated their familiar perfume. Bird houses were strewn above in the plethora of leafy branches, and the cheeping and chirping of our feathered company added to the idyllic scene. To my delight, a huge pen right beside me was given over to lots of chickens and ducks, completing the pastoral feel of the surroundings.

The program included several speakers including our pastor and various friends of Diane’s and concluding with her three precious daughters. Interspersed with the speeches, we sang a half dozen or so hymns of praise to our Lord. The penned fowl had been quiet during the times when each person walked up to the microphone to share sweet memories, words of comfort, and scripture passages. However, as soon as we began singing the first song, the chickens chimed in…loudly! Their discordant clucking and squawking could be heard all across our congregation, over the four dozen or so voices raised in worship! Since our little group was sitting the closest to the chicks, we heard them first, and began grinning at each other. The mirth was contagious, and soon the entire assemblage was smiling and chuckling. Somehow, it was perfect. The animal kingdom was also joining in praise to their Creator, and we all knew that our joyful Diane would have been grinning from ear to ear had she been in our midst!