A CEMETERY MAY SEEM an unlikely spot to find inspiration. But that’s exactly what I found in mid October while meandering through Valley Grove Cemetery, rural Nerstrand. The graveyard sits next to the historic Valley Grove churches and rates as one of my favorite peaceful places in Rice County.
Here, high atop a hill, a vista of fields and farm sites, of woods, of prairie grasses and wildflowers, sings of tranquility. My spirit quiets in the presence of this place. Here I can hear a rooster crowing from afar. Here I can feel the wind on my face. Here I can look into the expansive sky and imagine.
I can imagine a world of peace, hope, love, kindness. Words lifted from grave markers of the dead and given to the living. If only we choose to accept them and run with them, creating a kinder, gentler world.
These words I found within the cemetery. Hope. Help. Peace. Be kind. And many more. Words and messages I needed to read in the discord of today, in these unsettling times. Words that are chiseled onto stone, chosen by loved ones to honor those they loved or perhaps chosen by the dead before their deaths.
On this day, I contemplated the power of these enduring words and quotes which inspire, encourage, uplift. These words weather storms, stand granite-strong and unchanging here under the Minnesota sky of snow and rain and scorching sun.
As I walked in this particular section of the cemetery, I felt gratitude toward those who likely lived the words inscribed upon their tombstones. I would have liked them and the examples they set by living generously, selflessly, compassionately. I would have appreciated how they lived with care, kindness, optimism and so much more. How they helped their neighbor. Loved. Served. Did everything they could to create a better world by their loving words and actions.
This I found at Valley Grove. Among the tombstones, among the dead. Messages for the living that resonate, that hold wisdom and shine like a billion bright stars piercing the darkness.
© Copyright 2024 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
Recent Comments