Walk with Pride

A Life That Shines.

I first went into Torres Prison in response to an invitation ten years ago. I wasn’t exactly excited about going into a prison, but I didn’t say “No”. I experienced a different world—men in uniforms walking around with pistols strapped to their belts, razor wire and bars everywhere you looked, men dressed in white walking single file in a line, men being patted down when they went from one building to another.

 As I have reflected on the experience, I realize what a gift it was to have to spend three and a half days in prison, mostly with the same six men in white. Together, we evaluated and responded to volunteers’ presentations. As the retreat progressed, the issues we discussed became more personal. Do you really believe you are created in the image of God? Do you believe God knows your name? Like it or not, we got to know each other at a deeper than superficial level.

 The six men in my Family all had committed serious crimes, all had wounded their families, their victims, their own futures. All knew what shame tastes like.

 Implicit in every presentation given during the retreat was the message that God doesn’t view you and what you have done in the same way our criminal justice system and our society view you. Implicit also was the grand promise that you can live a life that blesses others—a life that shines—and you can walk with well-earned pride.