Who we are, not were Day 1,410

.I love this, saw it on a friend, Ruth R's, page. Eddie & I have been blessed to stand by hundreds of men in this way through prison ministry. I think this is one of the greatest blessings God has given us.  We were not particularly happy with the relative who got in trouble, thereby showing us the need for volunteers in this area; but in doing so we found there was a great need for people who truly cared about others.  We learned to look past what the men may have done to land in prison, to who they had become.  We learned to see the goals they wanted to reach were genuine & that they needed guidance to attain those goals.  Someone who was genuinely willing to stand alongside & answer the questions they had, someone who was willing to care enough to be there & help them.  We received so much from them, we were so very very blessed in so many ways that we couldn't begin to count them.
                                                                                                                                                                                 

We have been blessed to be able to not even ask what their past was, instead we worked with them in the person of who they were from the time we met them.  It didn't matter what their crime had been.  That isn't who they were now, that was their past.  A past they were working to put behind them & move on from.  Not to forget; but to learn from.  It was something they needed to take a lesson from; but not to let control who they had become.  They were better than that now.  They needed to seek forgiveness from those they hurt & most of all to be able to forgive themselves & move on.  They would also need the ability to be able to forgive those who would never forgive them and not let that hold them back.  To not let that make them angry or stumble, in the future.  These are tools we would share.

So often people look at what people did, instead of what they have become. I don't know too many people who haven't done something they are ashamed of. Sure it may not have always been against the law; but you are NO longer that same person. Yes, you did do something & that something did make a difference in your life; but a lot of times it is that thing or things that contributed to make you the BETTER person that you are today.

I admit, sometimes it doesn't work that way; but that is not for me to judge. The Bible tells me not to do the judging. So we work on the present & future. It is up to the individual to decide what they will do with the tools & knowledge we share.

We are totally blessed by the lives we come in contact with & can honestly say that we would not change one moment. We went into prison ministry inside the prison from 2004 - 2011. Now we mentor to fellows on the outside & continue to be blessed.

We are truly thankful for this opportunity to serve & stand beside each of these men. We have come to love each one for themselves. ♥  We thank God for the opportunity He gave us, how He showed us that another bad thing did work for good for those who loved Him.  (Romans 8:28)