Wednesday, June 5, 2019 -
Today I had my six-month “team meeting,” as I’ve been here exactly six months as of 2 pm this afternoon. The unit manager asked me, “You realize programming will reduce your time,” and I said, “Yes sir.” I am programming, which means I’m taking classes. I’m taking a business class, a refresher math class, conversational Spanish, and a class in the chapel called “The Case for Christ.”
The only other really significant thing they said was, “Keep your head clean, you only have a little over a year to go.”
Right before the meeting, when I was speaking with “C,” I’d told him I was a little apprehensive about the meeting. And he reminded me again, “God has you here for a reason, to minister to people, to show them the way…” He went on and on, and I don’t exactly remember the wording he used, but I questioned him about that. His reply to me was one of astonishment, something to the effect of “What, you don’t think you’re speaking into our lives, helping us grow! You don’t think you’ve helped me get to where I am today?” He then read me a section out of a book I’d given him to read, about the life of Joseph.
It’s thoroughly a God thing that the men God sent me to encourage and grow in the Lord, can turn around and encourage me.
Today, I also requested a lower bunk pass from the medical clinic, as the bunk in my new cell is much more difficult to get in and out of, and in just a few weeks, I’ll be 64-years old. I’ve been blessed not to have had any severe back problems since I’ve been in prison, but if back problems did suddenly occur, which has happened my whole life, I’d be in trouble. The man told me they would call me back up to evaluate me for that. I’ve requested it now, since my cellmate, “J,” as well as “C,” will be moving back to the unit where they were before it was temporarily closed. I am praying God would put just the person He’s selected to be my new cellmate.
So, on the half-year mark, some significant changes are taking place for me -- a new phase of my incarceration. But this evening, Kathie sent me this verse that a friend from Alabama said the Lord told her to send to me and her, “You need to fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed, tomorrow go out and face them, for the Lord is with you” (II Chronicles 20:17).
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