An attitude of gratitude
TG and I spent the eight days straddling my two favorite months -- that would be October and November -- touring New England.
I'll be telling you all about our travels in due time, but this tidbit I must give you now.
On the last full day of our trip, we visited a cemetery I've had on my radar for many years: Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
This 174-acre burial ground, located one mile from the campus of Harvard University, in the shadow of downtown Boston, was consecrated in 1831 and has the distinction of being the first garden cemetery in the United States.
The Egyptian Revival gateway to the grounds of Mount Auburn is inscribed with a verse from the twelfth chapter of Ecclesiastes:
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was:
and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
So it was that on a warm autumn day, I was blissfully walking the acres of Mount Auburn with my camera.
I came upon a row of four Victorian-era tombstones that were unusual in that they were together, indicating a family plot, but each different in design.
They were also relatively small.
I moved in for a closer look.
The first stone was an elevated scroll. Whereas this stone had its own dedicated base, the next three shared a common base.
The second stone was an elaborate cross upon which was carved one word: Mother.
The third was unique in that it consisted of a wreathed disc presented at a slant. I'd never seen anything like that before but there were many similar to it at Mount Auburn.
Then I came to the last stone, which was an ornate gothic style featuring its own wreath of granite flowers.
It had been broken at one point, into several pieces, and painstakingly reassembled with some sort of bonding material that was much whiter than the aged stone itself.
I wanted to believe that, where the stone had been carefully restored, it is even stronger than it was before it crumbled. That now, it will last.
And it was only then that I noticed the single word on the tombstone's face:
Thankful.
It brought me up short and caused me to stand, staring at that word, for a while.
I told you that I rarely if ever touch a tombstone, but I found my hand -- the one not holding the camera -- resting on the top left side of that stone for several seconds.
I tried to imagine what circumstances led to this tiny monument bearing, not the name of the person buried beneath it, but a single word conveying the emotion of gratitude.
We will never know. But it doesn't matter.
Today, tomorrow, and every day God graciously gives, be thankful.
And that is all for now.
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Happy Thanksgiving
Reader Comments (11)
A thankful and grateful heart is a joyful heart. Happy Wednesday!
Wow!
First, there is something so poignant about a cemetery in Autumn. Those fallen leaves surrounding the tombstones add to the ambiance that I always feel in a cemetery.
Then, there is the Thankful. What a testimony! Because even in death, or maybe especially in death - we have so much to be thankful for.
(174 acres? Incredible!)
Thanks for this post friend - so touching!
Beautiful pictues and what a testimony someone left behind.
I hope you & your family have a wonderful Thanksgving.
@Nancy ... thank you. xoxo
@Mari ... You nailed it! The metaphors are almost too good to be true, walking a cemetery in autumn (in any kind of weather). I felt so privileged to be there. The leaves were wonderful. So great when the branches still have lots, but there are millions on the ground! And as for the acreage ... we went to a cemetery in upstate New York that is over 400 acres! Stunning. I'll be showing pictures. xoxo
@Jane ... I hope you had a great Thanksgiving together too. Merry Christmas! Hahahaha xoxo
So glad you were able to visit after wanting to for a long time. My thinking when I saw the word 'thankful' - perhaps the family either knew the deceased was a thankful person or they were thankful to have had the person in their lives.
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family, Jenny. I'm home for only a couple of days then back to St Augustine.
Much love to you.
xoxo
Oh My Gosh, Jennifer. We have something in common. I love old tombstones and the history they bear. I have never seen gravestones like that either.They are amazing! Thankful is such a powerful statement that lasted even unto death. Wow!
Hope you have a wonderful, blessed weekend. xo Diana
@Sally ... Thanks for taking the time to stop by! Merry Christmas to you and yours. xoxo
@Diana ... Same to you my friend. I wish we could walk an old cemetery together. Merry Christmas! xoxo
Love your blog!!!
I taught five years in South Carolina and now live n Indy! You passed by!!
Keep writing!
@Brenda ... thank you so much! I don't plan to stop anytime soon. Merry Christmas and please come back! xoxo
Sometimes your posts make me cry. This was one of them.
@Barb ... that is a high compliment. Love you my friend. xoxo