Create in me a clean heart, oh God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Psalm 51:10
The Lord had something nice for me today...
Psalm 51:10
The Lord had something nice for me today...
This morning, I had the rare opportunity to take time off from my work assignment because the inmate I help care for is in the hospital. He has problems with his heart and will probably be there for a few days. So with the morning off, I decided to go outside to the recreation yard.
Though my immediate plan was to do some walking in the fresh air, I quickly discovered several other Christians out in the yard. Before long, eight of us were hanging out together, enjoying some fellowship, talking about the Lord, and praying. One man asked me to read Psalm 51, and then we discussed what I had read.
In the midst of this wonderful time of sharing with my brothers, I noticed another prisoner named Lenny, whom I have known for many years. I must admit that I was surprised to see him outside, as he almost always stays in his cellblock.
Lenny has been incarcerated for almost eighteen years now. He’s doing a fifteen-years-to-life sentence, which means the parole board has already “hit” him (turned him down) twice. Lenny is schizophrenic, but he is still a very decent person. Everyone likes him, and although he can sometimes get very loud as he talks to himself for hours at a time, no one is bothered by him.
Like most mentally ill prisoners, Lenny is a chain smoker. Nicotine seems to be the drug of choice in prison. Oftentimes, other men try to show kindness to Lenny by giving him cigarettes. Knowing what we know about cigarettes today, however, I don't consider these to be an ideal gift. I can't even stand the smell of tobacco smoke, though I've been breathing it in almost continually for many years now. But many prisoners don't know any other way to do something nice for Lenny, since candy is not permitted in the yard, and this facility does not allow inmates to have chewing gum.
Today, when Lenny saw me in the yard with the other Christians, he came right over and joined us. We all walked around and talked, although Lenny made little or no sense. And yet we had a good time together. The brothers took turns putting their arms around Lenny as we walked. We wanted him to know that he is definitely accepted in our company. None of us is a self-righteous big shot; we're outcasts, too. In fact, some of the other prisoners consider the Christian inmates to be trash and scum. However, we were just too full of the joy of the Lord today to let the attitudes and looks of some of these guys depress us.
D.B.
Though my immediate plan was to do some walking in the fresh air, I quickly discovered several other Christians out in the yard. Before long, eight of us were hanging out together, enjoying some fellowship, talking about the Lord, and praying. One man asked me to read Psalm 51, and then we discussed what I had read.
In the midst of this wonderful time of sharing with my brothers, I noticed another prisoner named Lenny, whom I have known for many years. I must admit that I was surprised to see him outside, as he almost always stays in his cellblock.
Lenny has been incarcerated for almost eighteen years now. He’s doing a fifteen-years-to-life sentence, which means the parole board has already “hit” him (turned him down) twice. Lenny is schizophrenic, but he is still a very decent person. Everyone likes him, and although he can sometimes get very loud as he talks to himself for hours at a time, no one is bothered by him.
Like most mentally ill prisoners, Lenny is a chain smoker. Nicotine seems to be the drug of choice in prison. Oftentimes, other men try to show kindness to Lenny by giving him cigarettes. Knowing what we know about cigarettes today, however, I don't consider these to be an ideal gift. I can't even stand the smell of tobacco smoke, though I've been breathing it in almost continually for many years now. But many prisoners don't know any other way to do something nice for Lenny, since candy is not permitted in the yard, and this facility does not allow inmates to have chewing gum.
Today, when Lenny saw me in the yard with the other Christians, he came right over and joined us. We all walked around and talked, although Lenny made little or no sense. And yet we had a good time together. The brothers took turns putting their arms around Lenny as we walked. We wanted him to know that he is definitely accepted in our company. None of us is a self-righteous big shot; we're outcasts, too. In fact, some of the other prisoners consider the Christian inmates to be trash and scum. However, we were just too full of the joy of the Lord today to let the attitudes and looks of some of these guys depress us.
D.B.