Back "at it!"

My wife and I enjoyed our "road trip" of last week. Leaving Tuesday we traveled to such places as Hagerstown, Cumberland, Rockville, and Williamsport (all in Maryland); Bear Run and Mill Run (both in Pennsylvania); and lastly, Washington, D.C. During this time we walked along the tow path of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, visited with a long time friend, and toured many of the D.C. attractions, including the National Zoo and the Smithsonian Museum of American History. But our most unusual stop in D.C. were two very old cemeteries.

Our first cemetery stop was the Congressional Cemetery, located just two Metro stops from Capitol Hill. There, after some searching and with the needed help of a cemetery employee, we were able to find the unmarked graves my wife's great-great grandparents, Hanse and Emily Smith (I just knew my wife had to have some Smith blood flowing through her veins when I met her!). It was rather sad to see no grave stone bearing their names. Sharon's g-g-grandfather was a veteran of the civil war. His wife very involved in charity work in the city. Yet ... nothing was there to testify of the lives they once lived.

The next day we traveled to the Georgetown section of the city to visit Oak Hill Cemetery. We found this cemetery to be the more interesting of the two. In addition to finding the graves (which were marked) of Sharon's ancestors, we also sat in the beautiful cemetery chapel where Abraham Lincoln sat with most of his cabinet on the day of his son Willie's burial. As we walked through the cemetery, our guide, Lou, pointed out a number of graves of note. Heirs of fortunes, political heavyweights, authors and playwrights ... all are buried here. But what grabbed my attention the most were some of the elaborate mausoleums. One, according to Lou, would cost $30 million to build today. Ouch! That sure is not pocket change! But as I thought of the motivation for spending that kind of money for such a monument (and the cost for a burial plot in this cemetery is $65,000 - definitely a burial place for the "rich and famous") - I came to this conclusion: these people did not want to be forgotten. They wanted something to leave behind that people would notice and ... remember.

Now that's understandable. All of us have a deep desire to live a life that matters. A life that, when we breath our last, people will stop and think: he or she lived a "well-lived life!" My friends. You can live such a life. Just remember as you start each day that you will live that day placing God first, others second and yourself third! Then you will leave a living legacy behind ... one that will speak to others from beyond the veil!

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj