There are some people I know who would more than likely consider me a couple of clowns short of a circus because I am so set on going home. Yes I know, Your thinking what is so wrong with that? After all , wasn't it James Dobson who made Focus on the Family famous by saying "Home is where the heart is". Or perhaps, it was Hallmark. What a beautiful and fond statement. It conjures up thoughts like sitting around the dinner table with your family or it could be playing a long and suspenseful game of Monopoly. Maybe it makes you you think of sitting in your favorite chair with a cup of coffee and a good book. Perhaps it is preparing a meal knowing everyone will be home in a short while and it is your preparations that will enable everyone to kick back and relax after a long and hectic day. Whatever warmth that draws your attention home is reminiscent of a good fire crackling and providing the necessary ambiance on a cold winters night. Life is wonderful when were all cozy at home. Home is such an important place. If the home is a functional one and a dedicated one, It will allow its members connectivity. From that connection members generate love and provide for one another safety, rest, and many more wonderful attributes. What more could we ask for? Well, this is where sometimes I feel like Bozo the Clown. I seem to be all alone on stage and hiding behind a mask. I must admit though I have found others just as strange as I. I have been somewhat vocal lately and to my surprise the big ring is painted with smiles that would fool the best that the audience could afford. You see a lot of us have experienced that great home setting that I mentioned earlier. We lived life on top of the world and rarely looked back. Contentment was our companion. What happened you ask, Why the funny face? Well the truth is, I am no longer content with my home. What once was, is no longer. Let me see if I can put into words what has changed. On June 20th.2005, While my wife and I were in bed sleeping, a little after midnight we recieved a phone call from a neighbor who informed us that there were some men at our door knocking. Dazed from the call, We made our way downstairs to see two men standing outside, one in an Air Force uniform and another dressed in black with a white collar. Immediately I began to scream, "I am not letting them in" But, I knew before long we would have to open the door and face the fact that our home would be invaded with some ugly news and that our home would never be the same. Justin was a wonderful son and I was so proud of him when he joined the U.S. Air Force. Darlene and I flew to San Antonio,Texas for Christmas of 2003 to watch him graduate from basic training. What a young man he was turning out to be. We thought it was so cool when he opened the car door for his mother and answered to me, yes sir. Just a year and five short months later the worst nightmare that could of possibly happened to our home & family, happened. A day after Fathers Day Justin was riding on his motorcycle off Base in Cheyene Wyoming when someone who was not paying attention and talking on their cell phone pulled out and proceded through an intersection in which Justin had the right away. Minutes after the crash, Justin went home to be with his Lord. You see our cozy home has been left bare by tragedy. An intruder has robbed us dry and the wellspring stopped giving its substance. We have been told that it gets better, but don't you believe them! Sadness is showing through our painted smiles and it is painfully difficult to reverse the frowns. Where do we go from here has been the thorn in our side since our home has no longer been the same. The answer, ironically is linked to our home. We are so grateful that this family was not only connected like no other, but we fostered an eternal spring in our home that gives life beyond that which we can see in the natural. I now wear Justin's Air Force identification tag around my neck every day just so something of Justin's is always close to me. The last line of that tag is my greatest joy. It reads, CHRISTIAN. Truth be known, Justin is really home! And that home is now where his Mom and Dad's focus rests and where our heart now resides. Roy R. Souza "In my fathers house are many dwelling places, I go to prepare a place for you".....John 14:2 Thank You God and Thank You Jesus Christ the Son of God. We are so very grateful for what you have done and the provision you have made for our son and mankind. In the third century, the church father Cyprian said. "Let us greet the day which assigns each of us to his own home, which snatches us from this place and sets us free from the snares of this world, and restores us to Paradise and the kingdom. Anyone who has been in foreign lands longs to return to his own native land....We regard Paradise as our native land"