The Long Way Home

 🎵 The Long Way Home 🎵

This song is very personal to Liz and me.

For nearly 20 years, Redding was home. It was where we raised our children, built lifelong friendships, and where I served as a deacon at Our Lady of Mercy Parish.

Then God called us onto a different road.

When our youngest left for college, Liz and I left Redding and spent a missionary year in San Lucas Tolimán, Guatemala. From there, life took us to Idaho, Texas, and eventually Sacramento. Each place brought new people, new experiences, new ministries, and blessings we never could have anticipated.

And now, after all these years and all those miles, we're going home.

In just a couple of weeks, we'll return to Redding—to old friends, familiar places, Our Lady of Mercy, and a community that has always held a special place in our hearts.

I wrote "The Long Way Home" to tell that story.

It's about Liz and me, but it's also about something I've come to believe more deeply through the years: sometimes God has to take us a long way before we understand where He's been leading us all along.

Every road mattered. Every season had a purpose. Every place changed us.

And somehow, through it all...

God led us back home. ❤️

I hope you'll take a few minutes to listen.

— Deacon Pat Kearns
The Catholic Journey