Good morning…
One month ago today, I settled into the passenger’s seat of Cathy Smith’s car. This close friend to many of us invited me to visit with her the cemetery where their precious daughter Abby is laid to rest. At midnight on March 23, 2004, I handed my birthday baton to this new little babe and Abby was born on March 24th. Two and a half years later, Abby was diagnosed with cancer before bravely, beautifully living for five full years. Abby went to heaven at age seven, on August 17th, 2011. Her pink-tinted headstone sums up the touching truth: “Forever free from cancer, safe in Jesus’ arms.”
It was an honor to visit this special spot with Cathy, a place near and dear to her family for generous generations. Just up the street she showed me the humble home where her mom was raised, the house where Cathy, her siblings, and their cousins visited grandparents and played beneath the shady tree in their welcoming front yard. A few blocks away, I saw the tiny church where this family’s strong faith was formed and passed down.
Masters Cemetery was founded in 1839 by S.W. Masters, Cathy’s great, great grandfather. It is located in the community of Ellenwood, GA. During his full lifetime, Samuel Masters was a landowner, a farmer, a State legislator, and a Methodist circuit riding preacher. The cemetery was established when a family was passing through the community and their young daughter died, needing a place to be buried. Samuel donated a portion of his land for her burial and Masters Cemetery became a burial place for family and members of the community. Even under its fourth generation of family management, it is still a tradition today to provide a final resting place for those in need, as we saw with the new tombstone of a young missionary wife and mother who had recently been buried there after her own battle with cancer.
Cathy’s maternal grandfather was the third generation to tenderly, respectfully take care of this hallowed ground where Abby’s headstone now stands, surrounded by many loved ones celebrating eternal life with God. Due to this family heritage, Masters Cemetery has always been a place of peace and comfort to Cathy and her family. She has not been involved in the monthly maintenance of the cemetery, but since childhood, she remembers walking through the cemetery removing leaves, twigs and weeds from her loved ones’ gravesites just as she did with Abby’s grave that day.
We calmly laid new, pink flowers next to Abby’s headstone and took a few pictures before meandering through the memorials left for many so well loved. Cathy pointed out the many infant and children’s tombstones that are scattered throughout, some only living a few days or months, including one mother who lost four small children. She pointed out the grave of her piano teacher’s elementary age daughter who was killed in a car accident and the grave of her great uncle who was a young pilot killed during World War II. Walking by those tombstones is a comforting reminder to Cathy that she is not alone in her loss as she shares this sacred ground with many other mothers who have laid to rest their babies and sweet children there, including her own great grandmother.
I then sat in the car and journaled, giving Cathy the time she needed to visit with Abby privately on the seventh anniversary of her passing. I thought to myself how sweet it is that Cathy’s family has been taking care of this holy plot of land, this place where the memory of her daughter, her father, and her many relatives will be honored for years to come.
As we heal through the pain of death and the sting of grief …calmness can lay great offenses to rest (Ecclesiastes 10:4b).
…Sue…
P.S. Thank you to Cathy Smith for collaborating with me on this post and to her mom who shared with us the historical origins of this sacred cemetery.
