What It Means To Go Home

1. Home is a many faceted place.  Friday, my grandmother went Home forever. Yesterday, I went home in a way, too.
2. I had been told by my family that Gran Rose wasn't doing well, and that she would pass sometime this weekend. It was hard news, and sad news, but she had been suffering for so long that it was only selfish to wish otherwise for her.

1. Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
   But His smile quickly drives it away;
   Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
   Can abide while we trust and obey.
2. Saturday was the excursion to Normandy, where we visited the American cemetery. For about an hour, I was legally on American soil, I left France and returned to the jurisdiction of my home country. Even though the landscape and trees were still foreign, the cemetery itself was very American, American in the best sense, when she has her act together-- not sad or disarrayed, but noble, hopeful, and full of deep honor and respect for the sacrifice of her sons.
3. The white crosses stretched out like flowers in a garden, going on and on. They were beautifully crafted and maintained, and the sorrow we wanted to feel for the sacrifice of so many men was balanced by a deep pride and sense of gratitude.

1. Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
   But our toil He doth richly repay;
   Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
   But is blessed if we trust and obey.
2. Knowing what I did about my grandmother, death's absence seemed especially clear to me. I believe in the promise God gives His children, that death is just the doorway to the Home He has prepared for them, and for my grandmother, this gives me comfort. For the young soldiers, though, many of whom were younger than me, that comfort fought with the anger and sadness that they never got to return to their earthly homes, to give a final kiss to their mothers and sisters, to play baseball, to see their children, to say goodbye.
3. Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet,
   Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
   What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
   Never fear, only trust and obey.
4. My grandmother passed away surrounded by family. It hurts that I couldn't be there, but I know that she loved me, and she knew that I loved her, and I have hope in where she is now.
5. The D-Day soldiers passed away on the sand in a foreign country, sometimes near a friend, sometimes alone. Some were never found, and some were never identified. I hope they can take comfort in the inscription upon their tombs: Here rests in honored glory A comrade in arms Known but to God.
6. Death can be a gentle release, and it can be a tragic tearing asunder of a life not finished, but at least however it comes, on the other side is Peace, and He welcomes us home.