We live by a graveyard, not like creepy close to it but just close enough so that we might pass by it once or twice a day. I kind of like living next to this cemetery, it has provoked me to ponder more often on how short life is, how I don’t know the future, and how everyday is precious in its own right. It can be an ordinary trip back from the grocery store or Target when I see a family surrounding a loved ones grave. Many times I drive or run by and see families and friends hanging out having a meal around a grave, which sounds a little odd at first, but if you saw the mixture of smiles and tears on these human faces it doesn’t seem odd at all. Their reminiscing is palpable. It reminds me of the beginning lines to one of my favorite movies “Love Actually“…
[Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion’s starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don’t see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it’s not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it’s always there – fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge – they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love actually is all around.]
This beloved cemetery has become my Heathrow Airport. It’s my reminder that life is wonderful, fleeting and so full of love.
I challenge you this season to search for love instead searching for the perfect gift, to be enough not have enough, to find joy in the present moment not in expectations, and lastly, to love more than you already do and to soak up the love that is given to you.
To love and be loved, isn’t that the great adventure of this life? Love actually is all around.
Merry Christmas from the Powers family!
Images by Katrina Louise Photography
