No Welcome Homecoming.

The battle of fighting for faith is never-ending. Of course, now that Tommy has come to terms with his current situation, he is beginning to feel the full weight of responsibly pulling away from the life he used to live. And just as he thought, his parents are completely at a loss as to what to believe about him and his friends are really not taking him seriously. With motivation fading fast, Tommy can't understand why God would move so deeply in his life if he will not clearly reveal the next step for his immediate future.

"Are you satisfied?" Snickering out of the corner of her mouth, Meredith, Tommy's mother, seems bent on destroying any trace of confidence he may have in seeking God for strength. Meredith is absolutely opposed to submitting to any authority for protection or security, especially any God for help in time of need. No, she is self-sufficient, not requiring any assistance from people or some spiritual reality, or so she thought. But for the time being, she can't believe her son could be so naive as to actually think that some God could provide hope for him.

"Somehow yes, but I'm terrified and hesitant to take action in doing what I know must be done." Having thought through the process of either hoping his friends would see and believe his true change of heart or breaking ties with them completely, has crippled his progression toward walking by faith. "I don't understand." "Why do you seem so offended and defensive of accepting what I have told you about God?" Totally searching for some kind of connection with his mother, Tommy is desperate to show her he's not losing his mind. "Because God or anything that pertains to spiritual matters is completely irrational," Meredith quipped. Hurt by the obvious wall he senses between himself and his own mother, Tommy decides to give it a rest and finish what appears to be a very soggy bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. But she won't let it go.

"You're a fool." Harshly undermining everything Tommy explained to her the day he sought to rid himself from this life, Meredith stands firm in her quest to bury his best intentions of coming to know God in a personal way. Feeling pushed to the edge of a heated argument, he simply moves out from the kitchen, grabs his belongings, and slips away to school, quietly harboring all the tension his mother has poured into his soul.