today i went to the beechwood cemetery in search of the graves of my grandparents and great-grandparents.
i had the coordinates of the burial site and off i went.
i passed sir robert borden's grave . . . and the many graves of other dignitaries.
beautiful trees full of spring blossoms hung over the landscape that was quilted with the shadows cast by the headstones.
the path i was following became more and more narrow.
finally i found the right area.
here, there were no impressive headstones . . . nothing prestigious.
i searched for awhile, trying to find their spot and finally after counting the number of stones in the appropriate row, i found it . . . or, at least the place it was supposed to be.
the marker with the names engraved on it was barely visible.
grass had grown over it.
as i pulled the sod back, i uncovered just a small plaque, barely visible in the ground.
this tiny plaque was all that was left.
i love to visit a graveyard. it's a thoughtful place.
when i saw the graves of my ancestors, i thought about the lives they lived.
their childhood, their friends, their school days, their loves, their marriage, their babies, their adulthood, their joys, their dreams, their hardships, their entire lives.
their lives . . . not unlike my parents, or mine.
not unlike the lives that my children will live.
and now, a tiny stone in the ground is left to commemorate it all . . . a stone grown over with grass.
of course memories remain . . . but for how many generations?
maybe two . . . at best three.
it really makes me take inventory of what's important in life.
and what is most important is my relationship with God.
He knew me before i was even born . . . and only He knows the hour of my death.
i came into this world alone, with nothing . . . and i leave it alone, with nothing.
the closest relationship i can have here on earth cannot measure up to the importance of having a relationship with Him.
with Jesus, i will never be alone. He is always with me . . . here on earth and in death. He is the "constant" in my life. my rock. my source of life - now and in eternity.
second to that in importance is my relationship with the people who touch my life.
my family, my friends . . . and anyone else divinely appointed for me to cross paths with.
at death, everything is stripped away and only those two things will account for anything.
in eternity it is "relationship" that will count.
Jesus said,
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
that's it. it's that simple.
