Am I home?

I'm home...what a bust. I was told by everyone on the base not to go home due to toughness in returning back to Afghanistan, plus time stands still at home and I've grown in ways I could never imagine. So I walked into my house to find that the kids moved all of my stuff out of my house...clothes, shoes, treadmill, bookcase. The nerve! Then I found that I'm home in time to fix the plumbing, the furnace and exterminate mice. I'm thrilled! I spent 2 days traveling for this...WTH? I hate mice and after all I put up with in hell all I wanted was a decent shower, blah, blah. Then I went in search of clothes to wear to church and I can't find a thing to wear. One shoe here, another there and where are my clothes?
So I go to church in pants and my trustie snowboots and got the most supreme slap in the face. A new family had just joined the church 2 weeks prior. Last week their son was in the garage and lit a kerosene heater- something he had done a million times before, except this time it exploded. His brother was burnt badly on both hands and his girlfriend is burnt over 70% of her body. The son died...just 20 years old. I'm in church just a day after the funeral and I can feel the pain coming from the congregation and the family. What a tragedy! Death is always unexpected and never welcomed. The pastor was present at the house the day of the explosion as the firefighters searched in vain for the missing son. He told of how the young Mom conforted her son's friends that came by, telling them to get in church because you never know when your time will come. Truthfully, I don't know if I would be thinking of God at a time like that. I watched her in church- she had brought some of her son's friends- one who committed his life to Jesus before all of us, and I wept for him, for them and the shame of my regrettment in coming home.
The grace of this family and the strength the Lord gave them was an extreme example to me of living the life God gives you. To find the joy and cherish every minute, even when I desperately want to thrash nasty little girls that throw me out of the house that I paid for. I only have 2 weeks to visit. I'm thankful that I have the resources to deal with the issues. I think I'll spend my time visiting all of my family and friends who I really missed and having fun for the short time that I have!
If you are near Dearborn, Michigan and would like to visit, please call or contact me here. There are parties I would like you to attend and I would like to see you!