Too Old to Die Young

Hubby was out geocaching in the Black Hills when he found the Bell Park Cemetery south of Rochford. He, like me, loves to walk through cemeteries to see the people who once lived in the area. The graves dated from the late 1800s through the 2000s. He said there were a lot of children buried there. Some infants were born and died on the same day, some were only months old, and others only a few years. When you see such a little time between the birth and dead dates, you hurt for the grieving parents who stood near where he stood, watching their children lowered into their final resting places.

Hubby wandered through the graves until he found one that a wooden sign behind the headstone. On it was carved, “The man knew love.” What a sweet tribute by someone who knew him. You have to give love in order to get it back and know love, so he must have been a loving, considerate person. Hubby found his obituary online, and the man accomplished a lot during his life. So much history and knowledge is buried in a cemetery.

I’m out this weekend attending the memorial service of a niece who died recently. She joins the list of nieces, cousins, and other friends and family members who died too young but are never forgotten. I think of them often, especially when I have a birthday. I feel blessed to grow older because they didn’t get to. It reminds of an old country song called Till I’m Too Old to Die Young by Moe Bandy. I’ve lived long enough to see what my children became and see my grandchildren. I’m doing what I love to do. That means I’ve lived until I’m too old to die young, and that’s a good feeling.

Celebrate your birthdays instead of moaning about getting older. Be nice to everyone. Do random acts of kindness whenever opportunity allows. Be a peacemaker. Love your family and your friends so much that someday they might place a homemade sign by your gravesite that says This person knew love. That will say more about you than your obituary will.

For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law. Romans 13:9-10