We're old and our knees are wearing out. We can't do all the things we used to do when we were younger and that includes long, strenuous hikes. So we've settled. Instead of walking for hours and hours up and over mountainous terrain, we walk in a local cemetery. See, I told you we were weird!
The cemetery is always peaceful, the paths are paved, and the steepest grade is about 5 percent. It's an low impact workout which we enjoy daily.
As we pass by the various headstones, we take time to read their names and other information that may be engraved on their stones. We wonder about their lives.
Many of the grave sites have trinkets placed on or around them. Most of them have flowers of some sort - most plastic. All of these are evidence of someone's love and concern. We learn a lot by observing the items. For example, a grave with many Tonka trucks spread around it tell us the deceased was a boy child while a collection of ceramic angels tells us that person must have longed for heaven or had someone wishing angels would guard over and protect their loved one. But there's one marble bench at the corner of the lot with 2 little heffalumps on it. (If you've watched or read Winnie the Pooh, you know I'm talking about elephants here.)
The first time we saw the little figurines, I had to stop.They were different than any other trinkets in the cemetery. I stood looking at them for a long time wondering about their significance. Since it was a single grave, I assumed the remaining spouse or relative had placed the items there, possibly to mark a memory, hope, or dream.
The writer's mind in me began to dream up a story that involved a long awaited and well saved for trip to Africa on which the deceased had planned to take a 2 day safari. I conjured up every detail, even conversations, and tucked them away for safe keeping. One day, I may write a children's book about the importance of seeing dreams come to fruition, but I digress.
After I'd stood staring at the little elephants for some time, I felt hubby's tug on my hand. "Let's keep going," he said. As we started up the hill, a feeling of sadness filled my heart. The sadness wasn't for me, it was for the remaining spouse. How difficult his/her life must be without their mate. That's when I remembered watching a National Geographic show many, many years ago about elephants. I believe they said elephants mate for life and if that's true, perhaps that's part of the significance of the little statues on the bench.
In the zoo, I've always enjoyed watching elephants. They're so large and seem so gentle, especially when they entwine trunks with a nearby animal in a way that seems affectionate. But watching them in movies or in TV shows, they're also very powerful, dangerous animals when they charge in defense of their babies. They're complex animals, for sure. How could something so huge live off of grass?
I've had a soft spot for elephants all my life. I think it started when I saw a show about poachers mutilating elephants for their tusks. Another movie showed how people in other countries chain the animals by a leg to keep them at the ready for tedious labor. Those shows infuriated me. Animal cruelty is one of my biggest pet peeves (pun intended.)
I'm sure several people pass the little elephant statues on a daily basis. I'm glad no one has disturbed or taken them. I'll probably never know the story behind them, but whatever it is, I'm sure it's special.
I wonder what someone would place on my grave? Would it be something that represented a special memory or perhaps something I'd given them as a gift? It really won't matter to me, because I'll be long gone, but to the loved one, left behind, it will mean something significant.
Life is fleeting. The Bible says we're like a vapor, here today and gone tomorrow, and it's true. Thankfully, I know where I'll spend eternity and it sure won't be a hole in the ground. Nope! I'll be walking streets of gold conversing with my Savior. I'll be continually filled with joy and spend my seconds, minutes, and hours praising Him.
It's sad to think about death and the finality of it, but as believers, we should long for it because it's a departure from all the sin and sorrow here on Earth. It's a promotion to glory, an immersion into constant peace and tranquility forever and ever and ever where the love of Christ will permeate our being. I am so ready for that!
Heffalumps. Yep. Those 2 little guys impacted me. What will impact you today? Will you pass by the small things or will you stop and take them in? I hope you stop, even if just for a few minutes. Life is short, very, very short. Be sure and think about that, too. None of us are promised tomorrow. The older I get, the more I realize the truth of that statement. Each day I wake up is a blessing and I plan on using mine well.
