Occasionally the wife and I will take a ride down the back roads and side streets in Caroline county. We've been known to wind up in a different county and sometimes the neighboring state of Delaware. Yesterday we decided to go in quest of a place we had visited before but had forgotten the name and exact location of. My wife seemed to have a better sense of the place we were thinking about and so I made her quest master! I've noticed I'm allowed to assign positions when I appoint her in charge, not so much when I think I should be the boss. But anyway, it was decided.
It's a funny thing because we had both been trying to remember the name of this place for about a week now. I don't know why I wanted to know or why I was reminded of it, but it was getting under my skin. I knew I had written a blog about this place, but when. I tried searching the blog archives without success. How long had it been? What month was it? I tried several times, modifying the search terms but without results. We had just had the air conditioning repaired in the car, it was a hot day, and a ride in a cool car was in order. Well you have to check out the repair don't you? Of course you do and so we set out. Reaching the end of the drive the quest master directs a left hand turn. We're off, heading in the general direction she believes will lead us to this place. It's just a small spot, on the side of the road, easily missed if you are not paying attention. The key to locating this will be a large wooden cross.
Yes, we are looking for a cemetery. A tiny roadside plot of land with a fence on the road side. There is a gate in this fence, chained shut with a rusty lock. The gate is large enough to allow a farm tractor or other machinery to pass through, although I'm certain none has in many years. There is no other fencing. What I mean is this cemetery isn't enclosed by a fence, just the entrance blocked by a gate and and perhaps thirty five or forty feet of fence running parallel to the road. But what road? My wife keeps directing my turn at each intersection. We are enjoying the ride as everything is in bloom and the crops are growing well. The fields of corn at getting quite tall now. You can see where this field was planted earlier than another. We see the horses, cows, and goats grazing in the fields. People are mowing their lawns and working in the yards despite the heat. There is little to no traffic on these back roads and so I can drive along slowly taking in the sights. Then I see it, that cross on the side of the road. I have to turn around as I almost missed it altogether. I pull off the side of the road and click on the flashers. Yes, this is the place. What is the name? Getting closer to the fence I can see the sign back in the plot, Howard's Hope. That's it, I remember now, Howard's Hope.
I stood there and looked into that cemetery. The sign is there and in good repair. The ground however is overgrown and the grave markers aren't visible at all. The bible verse is still printed on the sign below the words Howard's Hope. I remember that now and how curious a verse it was to me. It reads, " If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are all men most miserable. " Just what is that supposed to mean. I went to the internet in search of some insight. The general idea I got was that we should not only be concerned with the material things in this life, but we must focus on our hope for the resurrection of the dead also. If we fail to do that, we will not be raised as is promised. It is a message of hope. Okay, but who was Howard? I don't recall any Howard in the Bible and St. Paul is credited with authoring Corinthians. Further research on the internet revealed there are four people buried in that plot of ground. The last one laid to rest there in 1871. Not one of them is named Howard.
I'm a believer in fate. You will do as you have been assigned at birth. You can't know what that is. I also believe you can't change it. In short, it is what it is going to be. The question of just who or what controls our fate, who assigns that, is left up to us to decide. That's why there are so many variations, so many possibilities. Epictetus said, " all religions must be tolerated, for every man must get to heaven in his own way. " Fate will show you the way, is my feeling. But our fate is not the end of our life, that is also my belief. It is in that, that hope survives. An old Italian proverb says, hope is the last thing you will ever lose. If you lose hope, you have lost faith. You can't have one without the other. Is that what Howard was thinking about? Howard's Hope.
And so fate had the wife and I search out that cemetery on the side of a country road. Neither of us could remember its' name. Is fate reminding us of something? In this time of turmoil, this time of uncertainty, hope is important. We are all hoping for the best possible outcome. Perhaps it was time for a reminder of hope and faith. We must not lose hope for doing so means we have lost faith. And truly without faith there can be no resurrection, no redemption and no reward.
It's a funny thing because we had both been trying to remember the name of this place for about a week now. I don't know why I wanted to know or why I was reminded of it, but it was getting under my skin. I knew I had written a blog about this place, but when. I tried searching the blog archives without success. How long had it been? What month was it? I tried several times, modifying the search terms but without results. We had just had the air conditioning repaired in the car, it was a hot day, and a ride in a cool car was in order. Well you have to check out the repair don't you? Of course you do and so we set out. Reaching the end of the drive the quest master directs a left hand turn. We're off, heading in the general direction she believes will lead us to this place. It's just a small spot, on the side of the road, easily missed if you are not paying attention. The key to locating this will be a large wooden cross.
Yes, we are looking for a cemetery. A tiny roadside plot of land with a fence on the road side. There is a gate in this fence, chained shut with a rusty lock. The gate is large enough to allow a farm tractor or other machinery to pass through, although I'm certain none has in many years. There is no other fencing. What I mean is this cemetery isn't enclosed by a fence, just the entrance blocked by a gate and and perhaps thirty five or forty feet of fence running parallel to the road. But what road? My wife keeps directing my turn at each intersection. We are enjoying the ride as everything is in bloom and the crops are growing well. The fields of corn at getting quite tall now. You can see where this field was planted earlier than another. We see the horses, cows, and goats grazing in the fields. People are mowing their lawns and working in the yards despite the heat. There is little to no traffic on these back roads and so I can drive along slowly taking in the sights. Then I see it, that cross on the side of the road. I have to turn around as I almost missed it altogether. I pull off the side of the road and click on the flashers. Yes, this is the place. What is the name? Getting closer to the fence I can see the sign back in the plot, Howard's Hope. That's it, I remember now, Howard's Hope.
I stood there and looked into that cemetery. The sign is there and in good repair. The ground however is overgrown and the grave markers aren't visible at all. The bible verse is still printed on the sign below the words Howard's Hope. I remember that now and how curious a verse it was to me. It reads, " If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are all men most miserable. " Just what is that supposed to mean. I went to the internet in search of some insight. The general idea I got was that we should not only be concerned with the material things in this life, but we must focus on our hope for the resurrection of the dead also. If we fail to do that, we will not be raised as is promised. It is a message of hope. Okay, but who was Howard? I don't recall any Howard in the Bible and St. Paul is credited with authoring Corinthians. Further research on the internet revealed there are four people buried in that plot of ground. The last one laid to rest there in 1871. Not one of them is named Howard.
I'm a believer in fate. You will do as you have been assigned at birth. You can't know what that is. I also believe you can't change it. In short, it is what it is going to be. The question of just who or what controls our fate, who assigns that, is left up to us to decide. That's why there are so many variations, so many possibilities. Epictetus said, " all religions must be tolerated, for every man must get to heaven in his own way. " Fate will show you the way, is my feeling. But our fate is not the end of our life, that is also my belief. It is in that, that hope survives. An old Italian proverb says, hope is the last thing you will ever lose. If you lose hope, you have lost faith. You can't have one without the other. Is that what Howard was thinking about? Howard's Hope.
And so fate had the wife and I search out that cemetery on the side of a country road. Neither of us could remember its' name. Is fate reminding us of something? In this time of turmoil, this time of uncertainty, hope is important. We are all hoping for the best possible outcome. Perhaps it was time for a reminder of hope and faith. We must not lose hope for doing so means we have lost faith. And truly without faith there can be no resurrection, no redemption and no reward.
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