Remembering...

The past two days have been full of laughter and tears. I think Gran would have been so blessed by the people who spoke at his memorial and graveside services. They honored him with comforting scripture and memories, both tender and funny. But even more than these, I think his heart would have thrilled to see the moments of joy found amongst a sad goodbye...the way my parents, aunts, uncles, and their cousins disrupted the 5th floor of our hotel Thursday night as they howled with laughter recounting childhood memories, his great-grandchildren walking hand-in-hand along the trails of a park he took my cousins to once, our take-over of Chick-fil-a on Friday evening as we treated ourselves to ice cream, passed babies around, and attempted to keep excited, over-sugared children from plucking the petals off of all the floral centerpieces, and my irreverent comment at the cemetary today upon hearing that Mema's gravestone still did not have the date she died on it - "Mema Bolton: Buried Alive!" - which sent us all into yet another fit of giggles. He would have loved to see that the heart of who we are as a family - the family that he and Mema built through love and trust in God - remained strong and constant, even though he is no longer with us. Through our laughter, joy, and love for one another we honor his memory, his life, and all he stood for.

At Gran's request, my cousin Allison read this devotional at the end of both services. It was obviously a message that was very meaningful to him and it touched us all as we listened carefully to the last words of advice he left for us:

For the Christian, old age, the beginning of the end, is really just the end of the beginning. After all, much more is to follow...

In a New England cemetery is a gravestone that reads, "Death has overcome." Next to it is another, "Death is overcome." Because it is overcome, the Christian has life on both sides of the grave...

... The world sees old people as being over the hill or at the end of their ropes. We are on a downward course. Aristotle equated age with degeneration on all fronts. If we were physical beings and nothing more, there might be something to say for this worldly view. But we are soul and body, made in God's image. Because we are up in years does not mean we are down on the graph of life. Instead of being on the far side of a bell curve, we are ever rising, rising, rising. And so at evening, it will be light. (Zechariah 14:7).

This is not the order of nature. In the natural ordering of the day, evening is dark. It is then that the shadows lengthen, and the darkness deepens. But the order of grace is the reverse. The sun never stops climbing. At evening the light is brighter than ever. God saves the best for last...

For the Christian, full of years, it will be light at evening. As Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, "You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness" (1 Thessalonians 5:5).

We are not at the beginning of the end. We are only at the end of the beginning. There is much more to come.

Gran's graveside service included the playing of "Taps" and the presentation of the flag. I had only seen this ceremony once before when my Great Uncle Fred passed away. It is an extremely moving ceremony and I wanted to capture it on film so our family for generations to come would remember Gran's faithful service to our country.

A United States flag drapes the casket of deceased veterans to honor the memory of their service to America. The flag is placed so that the blue field with stars is at the head and over the left shoulder of the deceased.

After Taps has been played, the flag is carefully folded into the symbolic tri-cornered shape. A properly proportioned flag will fold 13 times on the triangles, representing the 13 original colonies. The folded flag is emblematic of the tri-cornered hat worn by the Patriots of the American Revolution. When folded, no red or white stripe is to be evident, leaving only the blue field with stars.

The folded flag is then presented as a keepsake to the next of kin or an appropriate family member.

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"On behalf of the President of the United States, the Department of the Air Force, and a grateful nation, we offer this flag for the faithful and dedicated service of Major Stafford L. Bolton."

A couple pictures from our time together...all of the children, of course. I can't ever seem to remember to take pictures of anyone else!

A beautiful stone bridge at the park

Lily, Sam, Finn, and Cassidy

"I made it all the way to the top, Mommy!"

Precious Cousins

The only picture I have of grown-ups :)

This stone is part of a veteran's memorial at the Masonic Home of Virginia. When my mom, aunt, and uncle told my grandfather that they were going to purchase a stone in his name he requested the words "one among many" inscribed above his name. The humbleness of spirit demonstrated here brings tears to my eyes each time I read it.