A NEW WAY & A NEW LIFE
Posted by Marla on Monday, May 10, 2010
Under: Prison Stories of Faith in Jesus Christ
This is a mission statement written by Joe Fox: Offender Palestine, TX
God...
How could I sink so low... What's wrong with me?... My life is over!... I've trampled over every blessing that was intrusted to me - by you. No one has any hope for me!... In fact I have no hope. Everyone has lost faith that I can be a good person, come to think of it--I've lost faith in that also. When I look into the mirror, I can't remember who I was so long ago; nor can I see the man that I can be, but more impotant I don't see what people tell me God see's in me. I'm ill, but that is so much easier to deal with than the sickness I stomach when every passing moment the memories of whom I have become just won't let me be. I want this to be my last breath...God grant me this one last prayer...Make this my last breath.
One day, that way of thinking and living began to slowly change for me. An inmate whom later became my best friendanswered the call that could only be called by God. However, I was very much unaware of it at the time because of my ignorance in the way's of God. My friend asked me to sit down beside him on his bunk. We've all heard the prison stories, so I'm sure you can guess what was going through my thought's, which he did too, because he quickly re-assured me because something or someone put it into his heart to do so.
We began to talk more often as time went by. He even brought me my cup filled with coffee one Sunday morning and invited me to church. How could I say no? God used him as a tool to remove each brick one by one from the numerous walls that I had built over my life time. Through our friendship he gave me hope and the will to fight and not give up on the idea that even I could be used for God's purpose...I have to confess...It wasn't easy for both my friend and God; for I quit on them both several times through our journey, but neither gave up hope because they didn't loose sight of whom I could become with the use of some genuine love and compassion. Now one of the biggest part of God's work I see in all of this is...when I now look in the mirror at the reflection staring back at me, I see a gift which is part of my friend in me; having a Godly desire to help others' like he helped me. Being a part of giving hope to the hopeless and love to those wheom feel they've fallen so low that love is now and forever will be beyond their reach...I know this will be a journey of up's and down's, but looking back I'd rather take the up's with the down's instead of the always consistant down's that came by doing things my own way.
The reason I'm writing this isn't to brag how lucky I was that someone in this prison had ears to hear and eye's to see. It's sad but true that that is rare among us that live with in these fenses. That has to change, I have to change, we all have to change that aren't fully there yet. Those whom live in here selflessly aren't hard to spot, they're some among us in here I'm sure.
I've learned the hard way that life in here, or out there is like a relay race, we are called to reach out to the one's who have been placen in our path...and only when we've done what Jesus has called us to do, then are we permitted by Him to hand over the baton so the race can continue...learning bny example then becoming the example.
So it is my prayer that we as a body can reach further beyound ourselves, beyound the classes we take, beyound just hearing the sermons preached, and look for the people God has placed in our dorms, in our lives, and in our paths who seem to be barley getting through the day's without hope. Christ's life here on eart6h is our prime example on how we can be used to bring hope to the otherwise hopeless...I have a long journey to fill His and my friends shoes, but with God all thing's are possible.
God...
How could I sink so low... What's wrong with me?... My life is over!... I've trampled over every blessing that was intrusted to me - by you. No one has any hope for me!... In fact I have no hope. Everyone has lost faith that I can be a good person, come to think of it--I've lost faith in that also. When I look into the mirror, I can't remember who I was so long ago; nor can I see the man that I can be, but more impotant I don't see what people tell me God see's in me. I'm ill, but that is so much easier to deal with than the sickness I stomach when every passing moment the memories of whom I have become just won't let me be. I want this to be my last breath...God grant me this one last prayer...Make this my last breath.
One day, that way of thinking and living began to slowly change for me. An inmate whom later became my best friendanswered the call that could only be called by God. However, I was very much unaware of it at the time because of my ignorance in the way's of God. My friend asked me to sit down beside him on his bunk. We've all heard the prison stories, so I'm sure you can guess what was going through my thought's, which he did too, because he quickly re-assured me because something or someone put it into his heart to do so.
We began to talk more often as time went by. He even brought me my cup filled with coffee one Sunday morning and invited me to church. How could I say no? God used him as a tool to remove each brick one by one from the numerous walls that I had built over my life time. Through our friendship he gave me hope and the will to fight and not give up on the idea that even I could be used for God's purpose...I have to confess...It wasn't easy for both my friend and God; for I quit on them both several times through our journey, but neither gave up hope because they didn't loose sight of whom I could become with the use of some genuine love and compassion. Now one of the biggest part of God's work I see in all of this is...when I now look in the mirror at the reflection staring back at me, I see a gift which is part of my friend in me; having a Godly desire to help others' like he helped me. Being a part of giving hope to the hopeless and love to those wheom feel they've fallen so low that love is now and forever will be beyond their reach...I know this will be a journey of up's and down's, but looking back I'd rather take the up's with the down's instead of the always consistant down's that came by doing things my own way.
The reason I'm writing this isn't to brag how lucky I was that someone in this prison had ears to hear and eye's to see. It's sad but true that that is rare among us that live with in these fenses. That has to change, I have to change, we all have to change that aren't fully there yet. Those whom live in here selflessly aren't hard to spot, they're some among us in here I'm sure.
I've learned the hard way that life in here, or out there is like a relay race, we are called to reach out to the one's who have been placen in our path...and only when we've done what Jesus has called us to do, then are we permitted by Him to hand over the baton so the race can continue...learning bny example then becoming the example.
So it is my prayer that we as a body can reach further beyound ourselves, beyound the classes we take, beyound just hearing the sermons preached, and look for the people God has placed in our dorms, in our lives, and in our paths who seem to be barley getting through the day's without hope. Christ's life here on eart6h is our prime example on how we can be used to bring hope to the otherwise hopeless...I have a long journey to fill His and my friends shoes, but with God all thing's are possible.
In : Prison Stories of Faith in Jesus Christ