For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that
whosoever believeth in him, shall have everlasting life.
John 3:16
The cemetery was deserted in the early morning. The white crosses glistened
against the green grass, with no break in the color scheme except for an
occasional bouquet left from the Memorial Day ceremony the day before. On
that day there had been flags and bands and color guards and generals and
dignitaries and guests. Today, the sound of the gate unlocking was all that
could be heard as the gate keeper let us in to say our last good bye.
My son Scott and I had attended the ceremony the day before at the Rhone
American Military Cemetery in Draguignan, France, where my nineteen-year-
old brother Bram had lain since the closing days of World War II. The
ceremony was a moving tribute to the “foreign” military buried in this
beautiful setting.
Now I stood by Bram’s grave in quiet memory, rearranged the flowers a bit,
kissed his cross – then we walked in silence back toward the gate. As the gate
keeper let us out I was wondering if Bram and Mother and Dad and Aunty
Ethel were all together and if they knew we were here…How good it would be
if, at this moment, they could be here with Scott and me. The gate-keeper
broke into those thoughts with the familiar, but unexpected, beautifully
French-accented words, “God bless you.”
Suddenly, in this ancient village so far away, in this tender moment, I felt as
though we were together surrounded in God’s loving embrace. “Everlasting
life” is real!…it has begun!
Thank you, God!
