Well, we buried the young man who was killed by the drunk lawyer today. Actually, he was cremated. It was the first funeral/memorial service with full military honors I have been to. Yep, 23 years on active duty and never saw a full military honors funeral service. It was fitting, to say the least. And fitting as well, every seat at the funeral home was filled and others stood in the side aisles and in the back. I would reckon the number at close to 300 people attended. You never know how much someone touches the lives of others until they are gone.

I learned quite a few things today about Kris, Kristopher George Mansfield, Senior Airman, United States Air Force. The thing that I remember about Kris was his smile. It wasn't big, bright, broad but it was a "killer" smile. And it was genuine. He would smile when he met you for the first time. And I think that is why I remember his smile so well. He would smile when things were going well. He would smile when challenged. He would smile in triumph as well as in defeat. And I am not reallly sure he had any defeats. He was a son to be proud of. He was a a trustworthy friend. He was a patriot. He stepped up to the proverbial plate. He volunteered to deploy to take the burden off those with families. He was a hard worker. He loved sports. That part I knew about. A BIG hockey fan, he loved ice and inline hockey as well as skiing.

As part of the ceremony today, the chaplain spoke of God's big picture. We only have brief, fleeting glimpses of a part of IT. We stand and raise our faces and hands to the heavens and shout out "Ah hah!" one moment, only to scratch our heads the next wondering where this is all leading to. We look at the passing of one so young, full of life and promise as unfair. But we are sometimes unable to see what good may come of this. That is the big picture.

I will try to paraphrase something read today.

We see a ship, with full sail move towards the horizon. It grows smaller and smaller as it moves towards the horizon, that point where the sky gently kisses the water. When it finally disappears we say it is gone. But someone on the other side says at the same instant here it comes.

So it is with Kris. We saw him pass from our midst and we said he is gone. But on the other side, God says with arms outstretched, here he comes.