A Grave Story

Love lies beyond
The tomb, the earth, which fades like dew!
I love the fond,
The faithful, and the true.
~John Clare

My mother passed on a few months ago. It was no secret, no secret at all, that she wanted to be buried next to my brother's grave. Christopher had died tragically when he was nine, nearly 40 years ago, and my mother let everyone know from that time on that her final resting place was to be right next to his.

When we were at the cemetery for a brief service—it was very brief as series of snowstorms left at least a foot of snow covering everything and the bitter cold wind swept over Ohio right then—I looked around at the landmarks I recognized, even so, and I thought that it looked as though we were not quite in the right area. Of course, my brother's grave stone was probably buried in the surrounding snow piles plowed to clear the area for the tent and the tent is usually placed off to the side anyway. I was a bit concerned at the time because the actual burial was not going to take place at the graveside service, but I thought her husband would have told them where she wanted to be buried and would oversee it later.

Because they had noticed, sometime after the snow cleared, that the plot in which my mother had been placed was not right next to my brother, my aunt and uncle made some inquiries yesterday. It was confirmed that my mother had been buried in the wrong plot--not even one belonging to her. So, she will have to be moved, but her final resting place will be exactly where she wanted it. Since it was the cemetery's mistake, there will be no charges.

My concern at this point is not about the moving of my mother's burial vault, but of how this news might be taken by other members of the family. My youngest sister, in particular, took our mother's death very hard and I fear it may be like opening a wound for her. It has been suggested to me that I wait until it is done before I say anything, this is something I need to talk to my Lord about.

No matter what, this reburial must be done. We really have no choice in that, so I am concerned that it would do no good upset my sister about it. My uncle and aunt will be there to oversee it to be sure it is done correctly this time. The main thing is that my mother's final resting place will be next to her son as she always wanted.

Personally, I would not want all this fuss about my remains. Cremate the body and, if anything, have a prayer for those still living who have yet to come to know the Lord. Then celebrate life's journey and my homecoming to my Lord! As the time approaches when we celebrate the empty grave and my Lord's resurrection, my thoughts are: A grave is not a final resting place.

My Lord, thank you that our true resting place is not in a grave, but with You.