Mortality

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Lately I have been thinking about my own mortality. We do not live forever here on earth; we all die. But there is a heaven for those who have accepted Christ as their savior and who kept His laws and do no renounce Him. 

I was looking at a group of photographs that were on my laptop, and these were of a cemetery I visited last year.  I at one time would take photograhs to illustrate the various designs and "different" names that would be on the headstones.

One thing that struck me is the number of military veterans that are buried in this one particular cemetery.  It seems that fully 25% or more are veterans, mostly privates in the Army, and mostly from WW2.  The vast majority of the "headstones" are markers that are flush with the ground, and you can tell these were provided by the federal government.  Marker after marker, headstone after headstone, you see much the same thing - Private or PVT, WW2, Korea, Vietnam.  Some corporals, some sergeants, a few lieutenants, but I don't remember anyone of a higher rank.  Some will say Army Air Corps, and the Navy veterans, well I don't know a lot about Naval rank, at least the "Older" ranks.  All kinds of abbreviations that I don't understand.  I remember few Air Force or Marine veterans, almost all were in the Army.  One of the markers had the birthdate of the Army private as 1933, death 1950, with the word Korea on it.  You can tell this 17 year old died in combat.  Another marker says 1949 - 1968, Vietnam.  Another who died in combat.

After remembering all these military markers, I had turned my attention to the photos I had taken of different kinds of standing headstones.  The common theme is of crosses - all kinds of crosses.  Upright crosses, tilted crosses, plain crosses, embellished crosses, crosses engraved into the granite.  Other themes were of bas relief and chisled images of Christ, Angels, Mary, flowers, scrolls, lambs, cherubs, and babies.

Names - Polish, Italian, Ukrainian, Serbian, Slavic, all kinds of nationalities.  Some I had to look at for a few seconds to determine their correct pronounciation.  Some names would have the entire family on the headstone, father, mother, and children.  One headstone had the name of their grandson on it - I wonder what that story was.

As far as my own death, I know where I would like to be buried, it's a place I have thought of for many years now.  I would have to check the zoning ordinances to see if burial there would be possible.  It's under a stand of pine trees, quiet, soft, hidden, solitary, and on a hillside that looks to the north and east, although being among the pines the view would be limited.  But it's a place from my youth, and I pass this particular spot often.  I have sat under the pines on this spot, listening to the soft winds whish through the needles, sitting on the soft ground.  I also know what I do want on my headstone, again something I have thought about for a long time.

My time will be here.  I am ready.


More: http://www.hsengine.com/s_flower+names.html