I pulled the pillow over my face and tried to drown out the banging in my head. Slowly, I sat up, keeping my eyes closed against the sun that would be spilling through my office window by now. I forced one eye to open, then the other, very familiar with the white light that would feel like ice picks piercing my eyes this early in the morning.

"What the..." My head was foggy from lack of sleep, and too much bourbon, the night before, but I was fairly certain my office didn't have stained glass windows. The pillow fell to the floor and, looking down, I realized it wasn't a pillow I had been clutching to my chest, but my suit jacket that now lay in a crumpled heap at my feet. I leaned down to retrieve my jacket and hit my head on something solid in front of me.

"God..."

"Bless you, son." Not what I had intended to say.

Realizing I wasn't alone, I looked for the source of the deep, gravelly voice. An old, homeless man sat a few feet away from me. His head was down and his hands were folded, as though in prayer, and resting in his lap. Long, scraggly, gray hair peaked out from beneath an army green beanie that had more holes than fabric. A large, heavy wool coat hung on the thin frame of the old man. It was covered with rips and tears, and beyond dirty, but it looked as though it may have been gray at one time. The pockets were torn, it was missing most of the buttons, and I could see what looked like a red shirt through the many holes. I could smell cigarette smoke and alcohol from where I sat. I wondered how someone could get to that point... How do you allow yourself to become a bum?

As I glanced around the dimly lit room, I realized that all the other pews were empty... Pews!? For the first time, I began to absorb my surroundings. Instead of the leather couch in my office, I sat in what looked like a church pew. Church? What the hell was I doing in church? I blinked several times trying to clear the haze from my eyes. A faint light made its way through the stained glass beside me. An organ and a piano came into view at the front of the room and between them was a large, wooden pulpit. There were long, red curtains behind the pulpit and somehow, I knew that the baptismal pool was under the floor behind the curtains. At the back of the sanctuary were double doors, leading into a lobby. A staircase, just outside the double doors, led upstairs to the nursery and the Sunday school rooms. At the front of the church, to the left of the stage, was a door that led to the kitchen. I must be dreaming... There was no other explanation. I hadn't been to church in ... well, for a very long time. And, I would remember coming to church, if I were really here, right? I shook my head and tried to clear what felt like cobwebs in my brain.

Closing my eyes, I counted to ten, then slowly opened one eye and looked around me. Nope! Still not back in my office. Panic started to take hold as reality set in. The knot on my head really hurt, so the wooden pew in front of me was definitely real. The man sitting a few feet away from me was real; he had talked to me. And, the stench that wafted towards me was definitely real. What the hell was happening to me?

"Hey, mister, do you know where we are?" I whispered to the old man.

"We're in church. Has it been so long that you don't recognize it anymore?"

The old man turned towards me and my heart felt as though it would pound out of my chest. Shock rippled through my body as I looked into my own eyes.

"Dad? What are you doing here? What happened to you?" I choked on my tears as I looked at my father and what he had become. It had been five or six years since I had seen him... but still, he was only fifty-five, no, wait, fifty-seven...maybe. Okay, so I wasn't sure, but the man next to me looked at least seventy. Instead of clean shaven, as dad had always been, gray stubble covered his drawn and wrinkled face, and his eyes were droopy and bloodshot.

"Kevin, take a closer look at me. Who do you see?" Even his voice had changed. It was gravelly and broken, as though he had a hard time getting the words to come out.

He got to his feet, swaying a bit before grabbing onto the pew in front of us for balance. I stood and took a step closer, fighting the urge to gag, as the smell of tobacco and wine assaulted my senses. As I stood eye to eye with my father, the blood drained from my face. I stared into eyes that were empty and bottomless. I felt afraid; as though I could be drawn into the oblivion. Shivers racked my body and I felt as though I might lose consciousness.

"Who in the hell are you?" My words came out as a whisper.

"Kevin, I'm you, if you don't make some changes. You're on the wrong track, son, and I brought you here, so that I could try to make you understand where the path that you are on, is leading you."

"Son? Why are you calling me that? You're not my dad! And, where the hell is "here"? What is this place?"

"No, Kevin, I'm not your earthly father, but I am your Heavenly Father, and I love you too much to see you throw your life away." As he spoke, the old man began to look younger, and a soft yellow glow surrounded him. I sat down to keep from falling.

"Kevin, would you even recognize your dad if he were here with you? You haven't seen your parents in over 8 years. Your folks have never met Jessica. And, don't you think your parents would want to meet your children?"

"We don't have any children. Jess can't... How do you know all of this about me? Who are you?"

"I've known you your entire life, Kevin. I brought you here, to the church you grew up in, because it feels familiar to you. This is My house, Kevin, and being here, in this church, should feel like coming home to you." I sat there, silent, tears running down my face. I was face to face with God.

"I've really messed up. My parents wouldn't want to see me...not after the things I said when I left home. And Jess, she tried so hard to make our relationship work. I've killed any love that she ever had for me." I hadn't cried since I was a little kid, but in this moment, with God sitting beside me, I felt my soul open. My body shook as I sobbed. God didn't move, yet I felt His embrace, His unconditional love, embrace me and lift me up.

"Kevin, your parents pray for you every day. I have held your mother in My arms as she has wept for you and prayed that you would come home. And Jessica is much stronger than you think. She's waiting for you to become the man that I know you can be."

"I thought if I gave Jess everything she wanted, if I climbed the corporate ladder, and was successful, that she would be happy. Instead, she moved out and won't even take my calls. I've been sleeping in my office because I can't stand being home without her."

"Money isn't everything; and you will get nowhere, no matter how much money you have, if you put it in pockets with holes. Your family loves you and their love is unconditional, just as Mine is. And, Kevin...Jessica wants what money cannot buy. She wants your love, and for you to give her your name." God smiled at me and all of a sudden everything seemed so clear.

I awoke with a start and sat up. The sun had begun to pour through the windows of my office. It was a brand new day and I had a second chance at life. I picked up the phone and dialed.

"Mom, I'm so sorry for everything. I love you and I'd like to come and see you and dad. Mom, I'd like to bring my fianc'e..."