Don’t let the photo freak you out. Jan and I are alive and well. The following post connects the message on the headstone to the Thanksgiving gatherings many of us will enjoy today.
About 20 years ago, Jan and I purchased burial plots in the Historic Cemetery in Jacksonville, Oregon soon after moving to town. A couple of years later, I discovered, unbeknownst to me at the time, I have relatives that were Oregon pioneers who are buried in the cemetery.
Yesterday, our headstone was installed. We wanted to take care of the details of our passing for our children before that day comes. At the base of the headstone is etched an inscription, “together in His presence.” All the wording of that phrase was done in small case lettering except for the word “His.”
A few days before the headstone installation, Jan and I stood over our future burial plots and prayed. We prayed that in the future when someone would stand over our grave and read the inscription on our headstone that the presence of God would manifest and create a desire for the person to experience the love and grace of Jesus Christ – a love and grace that has formed our lives and faithfully led us as a couple for the last 49 years of marriage.
When Jan and I created the headstone inscription, the wording was the result of our understanding of a shared life in the Lord and the inevitable nature of death. We do not fear death. For years, we have prayed the Lord would prepare us for the day of our homegoing. We want that day to be anticipated with joy and expectancy, not fear or dread.
Jan and I will always be together in His presence even when the first homegoing leaves one of us behind while the other steps into eternity. Our spiritual union in Christ is not dependent on an earthly location. All believers will someday enter the fullness of God’s glory and that transition will transform all our relationships, including our marriages, in ways we cannot yet fully comprehend.
The word “together” and “presence” are two words each of us will cherish today as we gather with friends and family in the Lord’s presence to thank Him for His goodness for yet another year. Jan and I wish each of you and your families a very blessed Thanksgiving.
Your message today was so poignant and on point that I read it to our entire family of 12 this evening after a grateful day together. Thank you Garris and Jan.