My sweet Dad and I at Georgia National Cemetery this past Sunday visiting Mom’s grave
I’ve always loved cemeteries. Their quiet. Their shadows. Their reminder of the brevity of this life.
This past Sunday, my Dad, his wife, Esta, and my daughter Kelsey and I visited Georgia National Cemetery in Canton where my mom’s earthly body is buried.
I know we often say where “so and so is buried” when we refer to someone’s grave. But the clearer heaven becomes to me from studying God’s Word—and the closer I get to my forever home (which is code for getting old)—I’m more aware of how I view things in this life. And in the next. And while that’s where we buried Mom’s body, Mom certainly isn’t there.
And I’m so grateful.
Hard to believe five years have passed already. I’m even more grateful for her now than I was then.
Dad chose “My Best Friend” because that’s what he and Mom were after 56+ years. That, and much more.
As I usually do when given time to wander cemeteries, I studied the graves, noting names and dates, the lifespan of the departed, and their epitaphs. Some tugged at my heartstrings while others made me smile big time.
Here are just a few…
“I fought a good fight.” What poignant, eternal words.
Is there a more precious thought?
The words to the song flood the mind, don’t they?
And lastly, a favorite…
What a great sense of humor. In a cemetery, no less.
And why shouldn’t there be humor there? As I commented to Dad on Sunday, the Georgia National Cemetery, situated high on a Georgia mountain top, feels like a stepping stone to heaven. And it is, for those who’ve trusted Christ.
Seeing those epitaphs got me to wondering…
What would I want written on my gravestone? “I told you I was sick!” is what James Dobson always kidded about his mother requesting. Again, that humor.
If I had to choose right this moment, I think I’d choose “Finally enjoying a heavenly body.” LOL. Or perhaps what would be better, “Swallowed up by life,” taken from II Corinthians 5:4 which is nestled in a favorite passage of mine.
“While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life.”
What brief epitaph would you choose today? A personal question, I know, and certainly a thought-provoking one. But I’d love to know. Now if only we were strolling through a cemetery for ambiance… Do you love cemeteries too?
Tammy
P.S. Note on the featured picture in the header… That’s the last picture Mom and I had taken together. We were on a family cruise just a handful of weeks before she passed. What a fabulous time we had!
Editor Cam
With Karen Schurrer, my Bethany House editor, who visited Nashville last weekend with her husband, Jeff. Love them both. The four of us (husbands included) met for brunch one morning at the Egg & I.
Tamera blogs every first and third Tuesday at Inspired by Life . . . and Fiction, a group blog she shares with a wonderful community of authors. If you'd like to join the conversation on this post, Tamera would love to see you there!