I spent my afternoon in prison. A for real prison. To visit an inmate you have to be checked out in advanced, cleared by the inmate, make a reservation, pass through a metal detector, go through a sally port, wait and go through the next door into a visiting room. We sat down and waited for our nephew to appear. I don't know why it makes me so nervous - except I am in a place where I never expected to be.It is one of the saddest rooms I have ever sat in.
This is our second visit to Trevor. Covid locked down the entire facility for quite some time. Then Trevor had to decide that he felt worthy enough to see us. When we went last month it was the first hug he had had in four years. We visited for about two hours. He cried, as did we. He deserves to serve his time. No arguments there. He is taking part in a faith based program that is building his self worth and self confidence. He is tutoring high school classes and volunteers in the library. He has about 8 more months to serve.
Now that the restrictions are down and we have finally been approved, we will try and see him once a month. He has come a long way. I hope that the day he leaves he will find the strength to live up to the man that he is becoming. I have nothing to be nervous about, visiting a prison, and yet walking through those many doors makes us feel so strange. When the time was up and all of the visitors were leaving, we were all smiling at one another. We belong to a strange group that spends an afternoon behind bars.
"I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me." My faith tells me that I am doing the right thing even when so many would not agree.
Brings tears to my eyes! Good for you for visiting him and showing him that he is loved. My husband served in a prison ministry for a number of years and saw the most hardened of the criminals turn around.
Oh, Cathy, living your face like this is absolutely the right thing to do! Those that would tell you otherwise really don’t know. Maybe it’s a commitment that not everyone can understand
