As slow-moving lava continues its march toward the Hawaiian village of Pahoa, threatening to wipe out homes of residents, there was a ray of sunshine for one family: the lava had spared the headstone of a family plot it had tended for years at an overrun cemetery.

Aiko Soto had placed flowers at the headstone thinking it would be the last time there would be an opportunity to do so with the lava expected to completely pave over the cemetery. “I made peace with myself,” said Sato, 63, according to the Associated Press. And when they learned a few days later that the lava had blanketed the cemetery, the family believed the headstone was lost.

But a scientist who had been documenting the lava took a photo of the headstone Oct. 28 with the Sato name clearly engraved on it, standing alone amidst the blackened lava.

Sato called the discovery a miracle, and although he knows a secondary lava flow could cover it eventually, at least it survived the wave initially.

The lava flow itself remains about 480 feet from the Pahoa Village Road after stalling over the weekend. It remains about 300 feet from a house, and residents have mostly either left or are making preparations to leave.

Sato’s aunt, who is 83, said she hugged the scientist when she got the photo. The science works for the Hawaii Volcano Observatory, and doesn’t normally release such photos to respect the family, but gave a copy fo the Sato family after they met the scientist by chance.

The lava flow came from the eruption of nearby Kilauea earlier this year. The lava has been slowly making its way toward the village for months.