Years ago our Sunday School teacher told us he and his wife had ordered their headstone from a local merchant. Everything had been etched on it except the dates of their deaths.  The dealer asked if he could keep it for a while to have on display. Gene agreed, assuming that the store owner wanted to display it in his shop. A few weeks later, he was more than a little surprised to see their tombstone on the back of a pickup truck parked by the curb in Sandy Lake!

Can you imagine suddenly stumbling upon a headstone with your name on it in the center of town? How would you feel? What epitaph do you think you would find if it had been chosen by your loved ones? Would you be happy with the inscription or would it prompt you to reassess your life?

I don’t remember whether Gene and his wife had chosen an epitaph for their tombstone—only that he was startled to find it displayed in the center of town. Charles Stanley says he likes to walk through cemeteries and read the epitaphs. He says it’s interesting to read the words that have been chosen to sum up a person’s life and a helpful way to reassess one’s own life.

We’re each going to leave a testimony of some kind when we die. Have you ever wondered what your loved ones will remember about you? What words do you want inscribed on your gravestone? (Charles Stanley)

I think this is a subject worth considering. We will all leave a testimony when we die, whether good or bad. Our friends and loved ones will have memories that will either be a blessing or a curse. All of us have done things we regret but as long as we have breath, we have the opportunity to create new memories or ask forgiveness for the pain we’ve caused.

We can’t control what loved ones would inscribe on our tombstone, but we can ponder what words we would choose if the choice were ours. For me to live is Christ, to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21) is the verse that came to mind as I considered what words I might choose for my tombstone.  Knowing that my faith will have become sight by the time the date of my death is inscribed is an awesome thought.

Years after my father’s death, I listened to a cassette tape of a message he’d preached in the small Mennonite Church he pastored. After the singing of the last verse of Amazing Grace, he said, “When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we’ve first begun. Can you imagine what that will be like?” I rejoiced because I knew that he now knows what it’s like to sing God’s praises in that wonderful place. One day I will join him, and I will know in reality that To live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Father, forgive us when we’ve failed to live up to the sort of epitaph we would want inscribed on our tombstone. Help us  live in such a way that we wouldn’t be ashamed to see it displayed in the center of town. Amen.

The featured photo was not a tombstone of a person known to me but as a writer, the words had special meaning and made me cry. I should also add that I did a Google search on “Funny Epitaphs” while writing this blog. They didn’t fit with the tone of my blog, but I invite you to do that if you enjoy a good laugh! The favorite was, “I told you I was sick!”