Home

"There are many roads in the journey,

but the one that leads to home is always the most wonderful."

-Warrior Lessons-

The warrior is home!

Thank God for holiday breaks. I've never looked forward to a vacation like this before. It's not that I felt overworked or something, but I just felt I needed this break to loosen up a bit with all the harshness I inflicted on myself these past months of soul-searching. The warrior journey which I gotten myself into was not actually an easy one. It requires discipline of the highest order, it demands that I beat my body and make it my slave, it requires total allegiance to my King, it asks absolute denial of all my claim to self. Daily. The warrior's code says I must take up my cross every single day. And it's worth it.

So, what’s the fuss about being home? For me, being home keeps me grounded to the realities of life. One may get disillusioned or over-idealistic about life, but home and family is there to keep the balance within and without. Home is a person's center on which everything else should go around...or should make sense.

Being home reminds me that life is beautiful. It is a reminder that no matter how harsh the journey gets, one can still be comforted of the fact that home will never change and will always be there to embrace the weary.

Being home allows me to see the other side of life—caring, affectionate, warm, and unconditional. It keeps me from terrible thoughts and obsessive feelings that sometimes engulf me when I go out of control (just kidding). The tangible feeling of love in the family is irreplaceable. It is a treasure that no one in this world would trade.

Being home allows me to see my weaknesses and mistakes, that I am still human who needs correction and rebuke. Being home is also a humbling thing: knowing that God has gifted us with a family to cherish leads one to be grateful of the Creator's infinite wisdom. It reminds me that I desperately need to consider my life in a perspective that only God can give me fulfillment, and there’s nothing else in this world.

Even though there were those times that I thought my family is imperfect, they keep on reminding me that unconditional love is the highest standard of perfection, and that everything will always be alright. God has made things beautiful and perfect in His time.

Photo taken at the Magat Dam in Isabela (c)

...a bigger and grander homecoming awaits somewhere. It will be the homecoming of all homecoming. It will be the biggest celebration ever, the fulfillment of every warrior's journey. But that will be in His perfect time. For now, the warrior must continue to fight the good fight, to slay dragons, to give up his life, to finish the race...

...and when a warrior come face to face with The King, that's when he will truly be home.