For some reason I have always had a fascination with cemeteries. Occasionally Roger would wander through really old ones with me - Cades Cove, Andersonville ... really old ones.
I love a cemetery anytime, anywhere. The cemetery at Greyfriar's Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland is wonderful. I was there at dusk!
Veteran cemeteries are so moving. Row upon row of white crosses, all alike. Each representing one soul. American soldiers are not buried where they die, as they do in other countries. There are no mass graves for American soldiers either. Each soul deserves respect. One soul. One grave. Arlington. The American Cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach, Normandy France. Just being there is a humbling experience.
I love the old family cemeteries that you can find in the rural South. My aunt had a walled cemetery behind her house. Sunken graves. My cousins, then grandmother, lived across the street from a cemetery and my first home as a child was across from that same cemetery. We picked up pecans in the cemetery and it was never a scary place, though we were taught to watch where we walked. "Don't walk on the heads!" We never climbed on the monuments. respect for life, even in death.
The confederate cemetery in Savannah is really unique. Trinity Church Cemetery in Manhattan is neatly manicured in that huge city. Every church in Charleston has a cemetery.
I treasure a photo that student sent me from China. I sponsored her senior trip where I dragged kids to cemeteries and she found one for me in China!
But why? Why go to cemeteries? Because there is no better place to evaluate what you are doing with your time on this earthly journey than in a cemetery. And though Roger rarely went to cemeteries to visit the people he knew (after the burial) - we totally agreed about cemeteries.
Roger's Lesson: It is far better to read the headstones and evaluate your own life purpose and destination while you are on the green side of the dirt. When the dirt is on top of you, it is too late to change your mind.
Exactly.
And it does bring comfort to many to sit on the grass on a sunny day and chat with a loved one at their grave. There is nothing wrong with that. I'm still learning that there is no formula for mourning.
I'm just careful to remember what Roger said about every friend or loved one who has gone on before us. "He/She is not here - the earth contains the body, but it is the soul that you loved, and that is eternal."
And the big question then remains - eternal, where? Heaven, or Hell?
Well, that is the decision each of us makes while we are on the green side of the dirt. And regardless of what any of us chooses to believe, only Jehovah God knows for sure who will spend eternity with Him. Opinions won't count, negotiations won't help. Money won't buy it. Power will mean nothing. No one can do it for us. Only the blood of Christ, shed for those who believe, will offer a way for eternal joy. It's a gift to be received. I'm trusting The Bible, God's Holy Word, for that.
When Roger took his last run, he had long ago made his decision about where he would spend eternity. It's a good thing too, because on the afternoon of Feb. 10, he stepped into eternity without having time to make up his mind then. In an instant his journey here ended.
Having experienced the comfort that is only available through Christ, during those most emotionally challenging months, I can not even imagine spending eternity separated from Him. I am so thankful that I have no question about where Roger put his trust for eternity.
And Roger - that last trip to the cemetery with you was one I never expected to make - but I know that I'll see you again. And the way this world is going - maybe sooner than later!
I'll keep visiting cemeteries. I'll keep reading headstones. And I will keep evaluating my purpose, my path, and looking forward to eternity.
I'm thankful for the joy of my salvation - our individual salvation - and eternity with Christ.
And it may be weird that I hang out with "head-stones" - but weird is ok with me.
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