40/365 She clings to that old rugged cross

Heading over to my sister's late Sunday afternoon when it struck me that I hadn't taken any photos for my 365 yet today. I knew I would take some shots of my nephew, but it was also the perfect reason for me to finally stop and explore this old graveyard I pass on the way to her house. I've wanted to stop many times because I could see that the stones looked older and very interesting from the road, but I just never did. Today I pulled in, parked, and got out into the freezing cold and whipping wind, to do a quick walk around and see what I might find. There were some very interesting gravestones, some very ornate, and quite a few were for young children ages 2-13 that all died from 1939-1946. Upon doing a little research I found out that polio, small pox, even something like pneumonia were very common and at that time there were no vaccines. Also since the war was going on, and so many antibiotics were being sent to the soldiers, there was a shortage here in the states. It was a hard time then, and many parents lost their young children. I could not image this pain, and pray I never have to know it! After visiting this graveyard, and talking to my sister about what I had saw, I realized that as much as we have to gripe and complain about today that they didn't have to deal with then, we trade that for many more advantages that we have now that weren't even dreamed of back then!! So my short stop in the graveyard (15 minutes was all I could take) made me sad, taught me something I did not know, and in the end taught me to be thankful for the many blessing we take for granted in this century!
This gravestone really touched me, it was for an older woman, someone's wife and mother who had passed on, but this image of a woman clinging to the cross for life is so powerful to me! That's why I chose this one out of the others.

Native iPhone 5S camera, Snapseed, Glaze, Juxtaposer