When we allow God to change our hearts, great things can happen!
As I started to look at my job as a ministry instead of a paycheck or stepping stone, it helped me to approach the way I treated the prisoners. I started to pray for them and take the time to listen to what was on some of their minds. This was how I got to know “Larry”. Larry couldn’t and wouldn’t share a cell with anyone and it created one heck of a problem – sometimes violent for a cell mate who was placed against his will with him. The unusual thing is that Larry would pray and remove evil graffiti by soap and a washcloth every night, sometimes all night long. But the dude was kinda cool and we talked and prayed about every time I worked on “his block”.
I had heard rumors (and they are constant) about the inmates preparing for a huge riot or taking officer’s as prisoners. It was definitely a cause for concern but many of the brass dismissed it – but Larry kept telling me that it was going to go down and despite me being a good guy to the inmates, there would be no mercy for potential targets. For some reason, I could sense truth in his words. He urged me to rethink the job since we did not have the means to protect ourselves and didn’t want to see me get hurt. Again, it is a very fine line on trusting any type of prisoner but I had already had enough scares with them being out of their cells with no walkie talkie or backup or nights of taking 15 prisoners up to their cells by myself with absolutely no help in case of emergency. The odds were against me and I felt it was a matter of time before something did happen. So with my family and safety in mind, I decided to give my resignation.
Right before I left as a detention officer, I had an opportunity to work on the juvenile floor where teenagers were locked up for murder, rape, grand larceny and drugs. Through God’s prompting I opened up a dialogue with them and spent three hours listening to their side of life, giving my testimony, and praying for them. I will never forget as I was leaving what one of the teenagers, who was in for murder, said to me. He thanked me for listening and praying and said that if someone would have just listened and spent time investing in his life for a few moments like I did that he may have not been there that day.
I cannot tell you how that conversation changed and transformed my life!
That moment I knew that my future would not involve becoming a police officer to stop crime, but ministering and investing in the lives of other people so that some might be saved. Never did I dream of ministering to youth or becoming a preacher but that day was one of the major catalysts for a new life-long conversion and mission.
So here’s the main things I learned through my wonderful yet scary time in jail:
- I am a sinner and am not better than anyone else. In the case of the inmates, the only difference is that I didn’t get busted (of course God knows) but I could have easily been in there with them!
- God sometimes drops us into a messy place where we don’t expect to be used and we just need to be available or obedient. He can use us wherever…if we just allow Him too.
- We need to stop talking and start listening. Listen to Jesus and listen to the people around you. It’s amazing what can happen if we hear instead of speak.
God has a plan for you and your life. You can use it for His glory or you can use it for yours. The choice is up to you.
BTW – for those who wanted to know if the riot happened…the big one as promised never did, but there were a lot of altercations between detention officers and prisoners after I left that ended violently. Either way I was happy to be on my new mission!
Related posts:
