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A Purposeful Delay
By John W. Kennedy | April 23, 2008
Fog in Texas had canceled one flight and caused a delay in another at the Tyler airport. The same circumstances prevailed in Dallas, where I waited for my connecting flight home to Springfield, Mo.
I felt rather grumpy as I finally sat down on a plane nine hours after my original scheduled departure. I had been on assignment to Calvary Commission (the article will be in Sunday’s TPE.) I phoned Joe Fauss, who founded the aftercare ministry for former inmates, while stuck in Dallas.
“Usually when you miss a flight God has a plan,” Joe calmly told me. And of course that proved to be the case.
On my flight home I sat next to a heavily tattooed middle-aged woman who had finally kicked a 26-year heroin addiction. She had supported her drug habit by being a “professional shoplifter.” Her lifestyle had resulted in an eight-year stretch in prison.
The woman’s account only grew worse as she continued to reveal her life’s travails. Her sons blamed her for the death of their father, which occurred as this woman sat stoned nearby. She still hadn’t forgiven herself for that. Depression in the past year had led to a 100-pound weight gain.
She seemed encouraged as I told her examples of how dozens of ex-prisoners had turned their lives around thanks to Calvary Commission. Just talking about her experiences seemed to lift much of her burden.
Millions of Americans are trying to rekindle some semblance of normality after being behind bars. They will have a much easier transition if Christians try to help them.
Topics: prison |