The Gift of Peace

Peaceful might seem like an odd word to use when describing a cemetery, but that is how I feel in a cemetery -- respectful and at peace. This last weekend we celebrated a holiday that honors those people that have fought for our country so that we can live in peace.

Seems ironic .... fighting for peace. But in this fallen world, I see no other option. The generations before us, the generations that lay in peace in this cemetery, fought for us.... people they would never really know.
Am I thankful?
Do my children, who have never known war, know what others have done for them?

These are questions I pondered this past weekend.....

My grandparents, now buried under "silent tents of green" , thought it very strange of me to bike down to the cemetery to study. I loved the cemetery for the instant atmosphere of peace and quite and tranquility. I could rest under the spreading limbs of an ancient oak and study, and when I was tired of studying, I could wander amongst the ornate gravestones and read beautiful tributes to people long gone.

(They don't make gravestones like they used to. I love the wonderfully ornate markers of old.)

(funny: Randy asked me if this is the kind of marker I wanted for my grave...... me?..... die?...... I guess I am getting to the age where I am not as invincible as I once was......)

Maybe my sense of peacefulness in a cemetery is partly because no one very close to my heart is buried there. Oh, I have visited my grandparent's graves and although I loved them very much and continue to miss them, I feel like their passing was an inevitable part of life........ death after a long, fully enjoyed life. Perhaps my feelings would be different if one of my babes were buried at the base of this guardian angel......

..... but I digress.....
I'd like to think that this past weekend, with all the ceremonies and flags and memorials, was a huge celebration of thankfulness for the peace we enjoy...... for we are immeasurably blessed.

My {gift to unwrap} today is the gift of peace, and my {Sweet shot} is the beauty to be found in your local cemetery.

{BTW.... a fitting marker for my grave.... a beautiful Peace rose, don't you think?}
{or perhaps...... this gorgeous tree?}