Wall of Remembrance

Memorial GroveFrom Carol Clum, WinterSpring Participant ...

WinterSpring's Memorial Grove will be a beautiful place of remembrance for our community and for me. I plan to have stones inscribed for the Wall of Remembrance in honor of my loved ones. I visualize this wall of many stones, each dedicated to a precious life remembered. I'm reminded of the familiar litany by an unknown author affirming our vow to remember those no longer walking with us on this planet Earth:

"In the rising of the sun and in its going down, we remember them."

All who touched our lives--we remember them. We acknowledge that all life has significance and deserves to be remembered. When those we love are no longer physically present, we fear the death of their memory will follow. So, we become keepers of the stories, photos, mementos, and especially, the love that remains.

"In the blowing of the wind, and the calm of its stillness, we remember them."

The spirit of the wind can be felt. Perhaps the wind gets its energy from memories moving through time, among the stars, across the universe. We find many ways to harness our memories. We may write or find comfort in music or rituals. We speak the names of our loved ones. We have a need that demands to be heard. So, we blow our memories into the wind like puffy seeds, hoping they will root in the minds of others and live forever.

"In the opening of buds and in the rebirth of spring, we remember them."

As the journey through grief and loss begins, any suggestion of renewed life is too painful to comprehend. Yet, as time moves on, lives can be reconstructed. Not the same life, but the life that's left. For after we rant and rave, and exhaust our questions and our denial, we must choose. Will we go on with the life that's left, or not?

"In the blueness of the sky and in the warmth of summer, we remember them. In the rustling of leaves and in the beauty of autumn, we remember them. In the midpoint of the year and at its beginning and end, we remember them."

All nature knows our need to remember the beauty of each precious life. It may seem impossible, but one day some small joy in living awakens. That day is the beginning of wonderful memories. The sadness doesn't completely pass. But memories blanket the sadness like a precious quilt made with love.

"When we are weary and in need of strength, we remember them. When we are lost and sick at heart, we remember them. When we have joys we yearn to share, we remember them."

We can never replace the relationships we share with those who pass through our lives. We remember them as emotions push us from laughter to tears. We remember them because we miss the voice, the touch, the smell, and all they brought to our lives. No words are big enough to express our love. With love as big as that, how can we ever forget?

"So long as we live, they too shall live, for they are now part of us, we remember them."

What becomes of memory when we are gone? If we spread the seed, it may live on. I imagine the Memorial Grove years from now. People will stand at the wall, fingers tracing the names, remembering, and carrying on the tradition of speaking their loved ones' names through tears. In placing memorial stones, a timeless link will join their pain to our own. For as long as people continue to grieve as we have grieved, there will be those who understand that the names inscribed on the stones in the Wall of Remembrance are testimony to a beautiful life, an undying love, and an everlasting promise--we remember them.

An inscribed stone may be placed in the Wall of Remembrance with a donation to WinterSpring of $200. A second name may be included with an additional $100 gift.

For more information on this, or other opportunities to be a part of The Memorial Grove, contact us at WinterSpring.