re: Forgotten Graves

I have always been interested in seeing where my ancestors are buried. This is partly because I like learning about history and have an interest in genealogy. When I enter a cemetery I make a point of reminding myself that I should act with respect the entire time. I know that some people may not feel the same way, but it's what I regard as proper. I don't view a cemetery as a dumping ground of old bones. Yes, it's where the bodies of deceased have been buried, but I also believe that the spirit of some (possibly all) of the departed who are interred there may dwell. When I visit the tombs of my ancestors I say a prayer thanking God for them and all the good that they did. I also mentally "talk" to soul/spirit of the person and thank them for all the sacrifices they made when they were alive. I tell them that I'm there to see them and that I'm thinking about them. I tell them that I haven't forgotten them.

Yesterday I went to help clean out an abandoned black cemetery. The cemetery has over 300 graves. Slaves and former/freed slaves are buried there. There are veterans of WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam buried there. It's so sad to see graves and the cemetery in such condition. There's a group of us who are whittling away at the brush, thorns, small trees that have consumed it. We will continue working until the entire cemetery is cleaned up. Then we will work to fix the headstones as best we can (level them, reset them, clean them, etc.) It's a big project, but we feel it's the right thing to do.

When I'm in a cemetery I'm reminded of my own mortality and my place in line of a long lineage. I understand that my time alive is limited and that my life and my grave will only be remembered for a relatively small period of time. I'm a Christian and I believe in the afterlife. I hope that once I'm deceased one of my descendants might come to visit my grave occasionally and tell me that I'm remembered. If my spirit/soul is present in the cemetery, it would make me appreciative.