Tonight my mind is wrapped around some of the most precious girls I know. I wish I had pictures of them to post here. Sadly, I do not. Sadly, I won't anytime in the near future. It's doubtful that I'll have any ever.... but for the grace of God, there's always hope for the impossible! :)
They're prison ladies. Caged behind bars and electrified razor-wired fences in a maximum security women's prison for something they did that they shouldn't have done a whole lot of years ago. A serious enough something that they've been there a long time (a long, long time!) and their sentences are still scheduled for a whole lot of years somewhere off in the future. I'm privileged to be able to visit with them for two hours each Monday night, Sharing with them... and talking with them about Jesus. They've brightened my world through their darkness. Taught me what real patience consists of. And what faith is in a whole new dimension. They're beautiful! I love each lady! Each face. Each "jar." Each vessel. Each heart. Each laugh. Each tear. Each hug. Each smile. And now that I know them, I would hate doing life without them being in it. They've blessed me beyond measure... and then some! My cup overflows!
Today I have been thanking God for them. Asking Him to show them His wonder like they've never seen Him before! I can't wait to see what He's got planned!... not only for them, but for me as well!
Interestingly, I recently found out that by this next coming Wednesday of January God is broadening my territory without my even first asking Him to. It came as a surprise. I'm very excited about it. Instead of meeting only with my Monday night girls, I'll be meeting with some new ones at another prison on Wednesday afternoons. Oh yea, who would have thought it? My heart swoons at my wonder of God!
It's funny though. When I told my daughter about it she said, "Whoever would have thought someone would be so excited to go to prison as you are?" Indeed, I am! For you see... I have once been jailed, once been incarcerated, once been held behind bars and chained, handcuffed and humiliated, told what to do by my guard, worn the stripes of prison garb. It's just that my chains were invisible, my bars imagined, my wardrobe unconciously (or sometimes intentionally?) chosen. Though I don't understand these prisoners completely, I can relate in a zillion ways. Therefore my heart loves and wants to help them to find their Savior that's looking for them and died to not only save them from their sin, but also free them from the chains that bind them!
Wow! I'm not sure what awaits me in this new place He'll be placing me. But I'm anticipating the blessing. I'm curious about the new faces I'll meet, their bodies that encase them, the stories they have, the journey they've traveled, and where they are on their road with Jesus.... or if they've actually really started their walk with Him yet.
People in prisons. They're everywhere. Not just on the inside, but also on the out. Caged behind the craziest things! It doesn't take much to trap an animal a human. It's really pitiful at some of the things that we'll fall for! A thought can keep a wounded one captured! An envy. A mad. An unforgiveness that we've let turn into something bitter. A drink. A drug. A 2 1/2 inch stick (finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper for smoking). A memory. A movie that keeps playing again and again and again over and over in one's mind. Want for what's forbidden, and a continual want for more. A tradegy. A trauma. A death. A hurt. An offence. An ugly word. Trash on tv. Filth on the street...
Jesus came to set the captives free! To give us life, and give it abundantly. It's here for the offering to all those that'll take it. But the choice is up to us, He won't force it on us or make us.
"I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness;
I will take hold of Your hand,
I will keep You and will make You
to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles.
to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness."
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