All Souls Day

Every year on All Souls Day we head out to the cemetery in which my grandfather is buried. He passed away in 2011 and is buried nearby, and this is one of the few experiences our children have had with death. Every year that we go out there they seem to remember the visit from previous years and they plan to do a little more... This year the boys wanted to bring rags and towels to wipe off the grave marker, Beth brought some clippings from our garden, and they all knew they wanted to go walk through the babies' graves nearby to find siblings of some of their friends. 

My grandfather chose his plot because he wanted to be near the babies who had been buried there. He was wildly pro-life and every year I'm reminded of how his passion marked him even past his death. 

I can't help myself, but I always tear up as we walk through the markers of the children. Babies who were born still, 10 days old, 3 years old... The agony and sorrow of their parents is beyond comprehension to me.

Every year is a new opportunity for us to talk a little about life and death. To get over the "creepy" factor of bones being under the ground to the purpose of life- that our eternal souls live in heaven for ever. We are not bodies with a soul- we are souls with a temporary body.

I'm thankful that they're on their way to understanding that this life isn't all there is. Anytime I feel concerned that they're not learning enough in school, or getting enough "life experiences," I remind myself that there's more than what we see. And that the goal isn't Harvard- it's heaven. 

Eternal rest grant unto them, oh Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon them.  May the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.