This week, the prison I have been working at for almost twenty years closed its’ doors. I am now in a new correctional facility and my old jail looks strangely like a relic from times gone by. As much as it appears so, it is not just a relic to me. I have poured my heart and soul into my work there. I have affected many lives there and they have affected me. I have experienced times of joy, sadness, fear, frustration, satisfaction, victory, and hopelessness, and in some ways I feel I have left part of me in there. It is indeed the end of a chapter in my life, but a new one at the State Correctional Institute at Phoenix has been opened. I wonder what God will have for me in my days at Phoenix. I expect more of the same emotions, as corrections work is prone to cycle you through many of the feelings I have mentioned. Whatever God has for me, I know that He will be with me as He has been for twenty years. I would have never, no never, no never made it through my time at Graterford without Him and His Word and the people with who He surrounded me. I am amazed how He took a man who really was ill-equipped to face decades in a prison, and helped me to stand strong so much of the time. I don’t know how to describe it to you other than to say that I feel like God pulled me out of bed, renewed my mind to face another day, kept me safe on the hour drive, protected me as I moved through the prison, guided me as to what to do and how to respond, filled me with courage, and helped me to help others. I am confident that He did this for me every day.
“6 Now this I know:
The Lord gives victory to his anointed.
He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary
with the victorious power of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
8 They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.
9 Lord, give victory to the king!
Answer us when we call!” – Psalm 20:6-9
So today’s blog is quite simply a thank you letter from me to God that you get to read:
Dear Lord,
Thank You for being with me each day at Graterford. You are an awesome God and I love You. You have taken the weak and made him strong. I could have never done this without you. You are my eternal blessing.
Your child,
Rob