"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds"
(Psalm 147:3)
It was heart breaking to see the brokenness.
I had never been inside a jail before.
I also have never been outside of a jail, waiting to visit an inmate.
The brokenness surrounded us.
I was surprised and saddened to see so many young children in the visiting line.
So many broken families.
So much hurt.
http://www.thespec.com/news-story/4413905-barton-jail-on-the-other-side-of-the-fence/
Yet, we were encouraged with our visit with our friend (who's in prison for drinking and driving). He told us how he sees God's grace in tangible ways all the time.
There is "hope for the helpless... love for the broken heart...grace and forgiveness, mercy and healing...cry out to Jesus".
"Cry Out To Jesus" (by Third Day)
To everyone who's lost someone they love
Long before it was their time
You feel like the days you had were not enough
when you said goodbye
And to all of the people with burdens and pains
Keeping you back from your life
You believe that there's nothing and there is no one
Who can make it right
There is hope for the helpless
Rest for the weary
Love for the broken heart
There is grace and forgiveness
Mercy and healing
He'll meet you wherever you are
Cry out to Jesus, Cry out to Jesus
For the marriage that's struggling just to hang on
They lost all of their faith in love
They've done all they can to make it right again
Still it's not enough
For the ones who can't break the addictions and chains
You try to give up but you come back again
Just remember that you're not alone in your shame
And your suffering
When your lonely
And it feels like the whole world is falling on you
You just reach out, you just cry out to Jesus
Cry to Jesus
To the widow who suffers from being alone
Wiping the tears from her eyes
For the children around the world without a home
Say a prayer tonight
Continuing to give thanks...
#4368-#4391
-God is able to heal the brokenness all around us
-God hears the prayers cried out to Him
-God is able to break the chains of addictions
-He comforts the lonely
-He heals broken marriages
-His grace and forgiveness
-His mercy and healing
-hope
-the opportunity to visit our friend in jail
-the letters that our children have written to him and the letters that he has written to us
-his determination to be healed, by God's grace
-his testimony to God's grace
-Paul praying with him through the telephone line
-being stretched in ways we would not have expected
-singing "Let us have a little talk with Jesus"
-going out for lunch with my sister, celebrating her birthday
-how he is learning patience (as he had to wait a long time for his new Rubik cubes to come in the mail)
-one last skate of the year
2 comments:
Nice to meet you. I'm hopping over from Ann's link up to count gifts with you.
Your prison visit sounds interesting, and what a neat way to do Hebrew's demand to remember those in prison as if you were there with them. My husband has done some prison ministry briefly.
You've adopted from Ethiopia! My mom used to live there for awhile, and we know dear ones who have been adopted from there too.
Have a nice week,
Jennifer Dougan
www.jenniferdougan.com
So thankful you experienced prison through the eyes of your friend.
Oh Deborah, that foot on the game board cracked me up!
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