There's something very sobering about taking a walk in a cemetery or a columbarium. In a non-morbid way, i kinda like doing that once in a while.One gets a grim reminder of the frailty of life. Death does not discriminate - not by sex, not by age, not by race. It was heart-wrenching to see a space containing the urns of triplets, whose date of birth was the same as the day they passed on, which was not too long ago. One wonders how long did their parents get to be with them - hours? Minutes? Seconds?
One gets to be thankful and start to appreciate more the people who are still around. And the life that we still have. Life is a gift - and i like how some people in my church use the phrase "the lease of life".
And one - who is a Christian - never fails to have their hearts touched when reading the messages on the tombstones (or the stone tablets covering the little place housing the urns of the remains). The verses quoted are all filled with hope - hope that those who have passed on are in God's presence, that their sins are forgiven, that they are safe in the arms of Jesus, that all pain and suffering is over, that they have fought the good fight.
And this hope is not just wishful thinking - it is the assurance and confidence that we have because of what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross so many years ago - he died so that whoever believes in him will have eternal life.
And with this hope, we have the great anticipation of being reunited again with those who have gone on. That day will indeed be sweet.
Happy birthday, pa.
p/s - photo taken at the PJ Columbarium. I like the contrast - the background are the flats where people are living while the foreground houses the remains of the dead. Or perhaps, a more accurate description is the one Jesus himself used - those who are sleeping.
*One of their big hits, taken from their debut album.
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