On Halloween afternoon I found myself enjoying a lovely run through the cemetery. I had forgotten it was Halloween and it didn't even cross my mind as slightly strange to be hanging out in the cemetery this holiday.
I run in the cemetery often- in fact it might be one of my favorite locales for a leisurely jog. This is a habit I started in high school during cross country practice. To prepare for the state cross country meet my senior year we drove to a cemetery 10 miles away to practice because it had some of the biggest hills in the county-- I come from a very flat portion of Kansas which made training for hilly cross country courses a little tricky. That particular week it happened to be Halloween and I was running in the dark at 5:30 in the morning-- that was a little strange. I can't believe my senior cross country season was over 8 years ago. Where did the time go? Of course I was considerably faster back then-- where did my speed go I wondered as I trotted up a hill this fall Thursday afternoon. A perfect fall Thursday afternoon. If they were like this every week all cross country runners would rejoice for meets. I was rejoicing because I was able to get home from work in time to go running. This might be the last week I can squeeze a run in since it will be dark next week due to the time change so I was savoring the moments.
Some of the reasons I like to run in cemeteries are that there is a lot less traffic, if any, compared to city streets so I can be alone with my thoughts and have to worry less about making sure cars can see me. It's also a fairly quiet place usually as well. Today the crunchy leaves provided the background noise with the slight drone of the vehicles on the interstate in the distance reminding me there was a busy, bustling world, outside the sanctuary I was running through. Most people like to run in parks which is okay with me but cemeteries are a lot like parks and I kind of feel like a lot of people don't utilize them to their full potential and enjoy their beauty on this side of eternity. The autumn colors of the trees throughout were brilliant against the crisp, blue sky in the late afternoon light. The shadows grow longer this time of day creating a unique contrast between the sunlight and darkness from the shadows. There were also a few squirrels scampering about to provide some comic relief on my run. Later I saw a family walking their golden retriever and enjoying the cemetery on this afternoon as well. This past weekend Arthur and I were walking in the cemetery when we met an older couple we know from church and we chatted a while. They were on Sunday afternoon drive and decided to look at some of the markers to get an idea of what they want to get. I suppose at a different time in our lives Arthur and I will go on a date to do the same thing. Hopefully that will be a long ways down the road but it was interesting to think about different ages and stages in life we will hopefully walk side by side through before we take or Sunday drive to check out markers.
Running in cemeteries also seems to bring out a different set of thoughts than normal runs. I wasn't thinking about my to-do list, or pacing my miles, or the aching in my legs since I am out of shape. I tend to think more about life and consequently death. There are some stones which I recognize the names such as Eisenhower or Duckwall or Brown and I know snippets of their stories and successes. I think about the other names on the markers and make up my own stories about how those people's likes, their families, their careers or interests, how their lives impacted the community. Cemeteries are full of stories. Last weekend on our walk we noticed some gravestones off in the corner of one section. We realized there were three matching stones with the same last name. Each was a child with the same date for when they entered this world and left it. All the dates were with in 4 years. Just small pieces of this family's story. Three babies that died at birth within 4 years. But what was the rest of the story? How did these parents find the strength to go on? What do you do when your hopes and dreams for a child come crashing down around you. And not just once but three times?
I understand why some people find cemeteries depressing. There are the stories that break your heart. But then there are the memories of the lives that touched so many other lives in big ways or small. More importantly, cemeteries remind me that death is not the end of the story. Christ's death and more importantly his resurrection gives us victory over death. As glorious as my run this afternoon through the cemetery was I know that it is merely shadows of the Glory that is to come. Omnia Vincit Amor.
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