Old Order Mennonite Memoirs

The wheels on the van were going round and round on the turnpike one day years ago. The mists of time have hidden the exact date from my memory. I’m not even sure why we were in Lancaster County, but we were on our way home. As the miles grew long, we took to singing to shorten them. Mr. Wagner, our driver, asked us to sing the song “Because He Lives,” but we didn’t know it. Although we came home and learned it, we never again sang songs in Mr. Wagner’s van. But last week my husband and I helped sing that beautiful hymn at his funeral.

The long vigil is over for his faithful wife, Doris. Her g...