15 years to Life

The raw emotion I feel right now is indescribable. I’m not sure how it came up, but my husband and I were talking… One thing led to another, and I found myself remembering people from back home. There are several that I’ve known who started out on a relatively straight path and fallen off track along the way.

The reminiscence led me to a young man I once knew back in high school. He was always nice and polite. Seemed like a good kid. He was convicted of murder a few years ago. Fifteen years to life. He still has many years to go before he is eligible for parole. His grandparents are good, God-fearing people. Pillars of the community. I will not provide more details in order to protect the family’s privacy.

I think of kids that I knew who were victims of drug-related gun violence. Snuffed out in their youth. I remember them growing up in children’s church.

As a parent, my heart is hurting right now. These children had mothers, grandmothers, aunts and maybe even a church family who loved them.

These crimes were not premeditated. They happened in the blink of an eye. Choices were made. The wrong ones.

How many of us have made bad choices? The ones that we look back on and say, “Whoa, that was close.” The ones we are so glad our parents don’t know about. The ones we can’t forgive ourselves for even though 10 years have past.

I am thanking God right now for His grace. For my parents’ love and guidance. For the Holy Spirit’s whispering into my soul. I thank Him that I can empathize with those whose choices have landed them in the system. Why? Because some of those names are people I knew once upon a time. Because, if not for God’s grace and mercy upon me, one fit of rage could have landed me in a similar circumstance.

If you know someone who is locked up, do not judge. We’re not qualified. Pray for their children and parents. Pray that they could see God’s provision even in the most dire circumstance. Pray that the “prison religion” they find will last a lifetime, and they will truly be restored, rehabilitated and reformed.