Hope for the Incarcerated预览

(Today’s story of hope comes from Scott, a house manager for HIA who also works as a CNC Operator for a metal wholesaler.)

When I was young, I lost two of the three “father figures” I had in my life, one to death by suicide and the other to a heart attack. This was the start of my withdrawal from the world, which in turn led to a life of selling and subsequently using drugs until I was an addict. My addiction continued for many years and led to many other issues.

When I was around 25 years old, I was on probation for forgery charges (to get money for my addiction). I was supposed to go to a rehabilitation type of facility; however, the Lord had other plans and I ended up going to prison. I was absolutely terrified due to all of the “horror stories” I had heard about the prison system. Many people in my then-circle of “friends” had served time and told me about things that had happened while they were there.

At intake, I was stripped of anything that was personal to me. Belongings, clothing, pictures… even my hair. With a shaved head and prison clothes, I was placed in an isolation cell, where the only thing I was allowed was a Bible. (I had gone to church when I was young, but that had long since stopped due to my lifestyle.) So, rather than a Bible being taken away from me, it was the one thing given to me while I was in isolation. So, with nothing else to do, I began to read. Jesus provided just what I needed at just the right time, even though I didn’t see it then.

When I was transferred into a cell, I found an old Bible tucked up under the head of the mat—the previous occupant had been using it to build up the pillow. It only took about two hours of staring at the wall for me to feel like I was losing my mind. So again, I picked up the Bible, opened it to a random page, and began reading.

At first, I just read to pass the time and not go absolutely stir-crazy! Before long though, I noticed a theme in the scriptures I read: Hope. The more I read, the more I noticed the slight pressure in my chest begin to ease. The feeling was so real to me at that moment that I actually had to put down the book and attempt to clear my mind. I told myself it was just my imagination. Certainly, I would not have ended up here, in prison, if there was any truth to the book I was reading.

Again I began to read, again just to pass the time, and I noticed so many passages and stories in the Bible where people were suffering more than I was. The pressure in my chest began to fade once again. I believe that was the first time in my life I actually felt true surrender. In that moment, all the fear I had about the place I was in and all the things going on around me began to fade away until, eventually, my fear was gone altogether.

I have prayed about what to write here to try to help someone else in the same situation I was in, and the one thing that keeps coming to me is this: keep your focus on Jesus. In HIM, you will overcome and have peace and contentment, wherever you are. Jesus is always the answer. He is our hope and our refuge.