Easter Sunday two years ago, our family of six stood in the parking lot of Denny’s restaurant in Oceanside and said our farewells to Barrett.  He was leaving on his first deployment to Iraq with the Marine Corps.  That private family circle remains permanently etched in our minds ... as we recall the tender way he embraced each member and whispered his personal goodbyes.  We were all duly traumatized. 

            This year ... just after Easter Sunday ... Barrett returns home to California.  And this time ... we’ll gather around in a circle to celebrate his completion of two tours to Iraq.  He is finished.  Done.  Back “inside the wire.” 

            Any messianic overtones to Barrett’s character are entirely unintentional with this analogy.  However, for those who follow Christ, the weekend ahead represents both the darkest moments of departure ... and the grandest of all celebrations.  A stark contrast. 

            And for this father, Easter 2009 delivers a profound sense of relief.  The son we relinquished two years ago in that pathetic Denny’s parking lot ... our worst fears spilling out on the asphalt ... is on his way home. 

            How fitting that Easter is the bookend for both events.  Relief is what the resurrection represents.  Once I was lost.  Now I am found.

            Thank you for your persistent prayers on Barrett’s behalf!  I’ll post pictures later next week ... when his smilin’ mug arrives at Camp Pendleton.