For The Son Who’s Coming Home

This will not be an easy journey

You will not die along the way

But understand that coming here

May bring you pain and heartache

The likes of which you have never imagined

When you arrive at your father's doorstep

There will be no welcoming party

No feasts in your honor

No one will wrap their arms around and say

"Welcome home my son,

It has been too long since we saw you last."

Instead, we will expect you to pick up

Right where you left off all those years ago

Forgive us if we do not warm to you immediately

Forgive us if we do not understand the strange tongues with which you speak

Forgive us if we do not know the customs of the lands in which you've been

In return, we will forgive you for things that you may have forgotten

If you stick around long enough

You will fight with your brother

And when that happens

We will try not to blindly take his side

But understand that this will be difficult

Because your face is familiar

But your soul is not

For how can you know a man

If you do not know his soul?

In many ways, we're very different than how you remember us

In many ways, we're very much the same

Relationships take time

We must both try to remember that

We hope that you will want to stay here

We hope this place will bring you peace

We hope that you will find refuge here

After all, this was your home once

We pray it will be again