Remembering my chains...

November 21, 2016 was Bible study night at Plainfield Correctional Facility.  Every Monday, Reggie and David would volunteer their time to come study God’s Word with those of us who wanted to learn.  Nothing is easy in prison.  Not even time with God.  Nothing.  Even getting to Bible study is a process and might be why of nearly 2000 offenders only 10 – 12 joined me every Monday at Chapel.  That small number might also be why to this day I resist the belief, notion, or judgment that I only found God in prison (some jailhouse religion talk if you get my drift).  From the outside looking in that may be true but let me tell you about the WORK of finding God in prison.

At 6:00 PM every Monday (and Thursday and Friday for regular Church) you are required to “stage-up” or prepare to go and that means lining up (one or two in my dorm) at the door.  Then, as usual for anything in prison life, I waited by the door until 6:30 PM when Chapel was screamed by the guard – exciting right? – wrong.  That just meant I had to go to the guard desk and check-out, be harassed, cussed at, and then told to wait again, by yet another locked door until the walks (prison talk for sidewalks) are opened at 6:50 PM.  Getting close to Bible study you might say?  Nah, now I just must walk a ¼ mile in either the blistering heat, pouring rain, or ridiculous cold to the Chapel where I am normally greeted by lock doors and another wait before the guard finally decides to check us in and eventually allow us to enter God’s House - - FYI it is normally 7:15 PM by now.  Very efficient use of 1 hour and 15 minutes prep time for Bible study.

Writing this today makes me wonder why I kept going.  I never missed unless we were on lock-down or the couple of times the guards would simply refuse to let me go for whatever made up reason at the time.  Prison is all about control and the enemy is in control of the Indiana Department of Corrections.   Editorial note:  nothing ever happens on time or as planned in prison and this part of chaos in control is what is so de-humanizing in the whole process of incarceration.  One never knows what to expect even when it is expected.  It is cruel and unusual punishment just being there.

I thought I had it bad to get to Bible study but come to find out, Reggie and David had a process too.  Searches and questions like - - “open your Bibles,” “empty your pockets,” “open your mouths,” “why do you come here?” and statements like “they are all losers,” “they don’t care about God,” and “they are all criminals.”  You know the things you probably all thought before you read my blog, listened to my journey, liked my page, and shared my comments. No judgment here - - I thought the same things before I went.  That’s why I share my journey today.

But they came – EVERY MONDAY.  Time away from their families to join a small group of men who had nothing to offer them.  Except that those men had to fight in a sense just to be able to worship and learn together.  So, from 7:15 PM to 8:50 PM we studied.  We prayed.  We laughed.  We cried.  We wished we were them.  Maybe they wished they were us (doubtful). We shared life.  We were free – free to be God’s people even as prisoners.

I learned a lot about God on Mondays.  I learned that where I am doesn’t define who I am.  I learned that a lot of the best parts of the Bible were written in prisons just like mine.  I learned that we are all broken and need God’s love.  I learned about service to others and to God.

On this day, we studied Colossians 3, and these are the things I remember about that day.  I was introduced to tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  I remember learning about forgiving each other (especially prison guards) and in all things to give thanks.  I learned in the process of getting to Bible study, the study itself, and in learning about the struggles that Reggie and David face as well that I would do just as they did once I was released.

Paul basically tells in Colossians that we will not find success in our own strength or rules which lead us away from the only adequate power source - - GOD.  I have no idea why I wrote about this today, but it may just because of what Paul signs at the end of the book – Remember my chains…

So, I remember my chains today.  My chains, in addition to getting those Bible studies, were as follows.

·       Crack

·       Meth

·       Alcohol

·       Cigarettes

·       Shane

·       Pride

·       Shane

·       Prison

·       Bible study process

·       Prison

·       Jail

·       Shane…see a pattern here?

My prison…my chains…were me.  I will remember them and this:

What matters most is that we understand that we move in God’s strength.  Period. End of story.

If you are struggling, it’s okay…help is only a prayer away.