Fresh Hope

Fresh Hope

O LORD, I am calling to you. Please hurry! Listen when I cry to you for help! Psalm 141:1

Carlos stood before the open door of his newly assigned cell. Finally the guard muttered, “Might as well go in and get used to it. You’re going to be here awhile.”

As Carlos took a deep breath and stepped forward, the guard pulled the barred door shut. For a long moment, Carlos stood in the dim light, looking at the place that would be his home for the next eight to ten years.

The single cot was covered with a coarse gray blanket. A stainless steel sink and commode occupied one corner. At the end of the bed was a small metal stand. Its two drawers would hold the few personal items he was allowed.

Carlos pulled open the top drawer and discovered a tattered Bible. Since he couldn’t read, he picked it up merely out of curiosity and thumbed through the pages. Then he thrust the Bible back into the drawer, sank onto his cot, and buried his face in his hands, thinking of the wrong choices that had put him here.

The days that followed were filled with early rising and supervised showers. After breakfast, some of the men on his cell block took court-ordered anger management classes; others worked out in the weight room. Carlos moved slowly, thinking of his wife, Rose, and her constant prayers for him.

One night, several weeks after his arrival, Carlos realized the next day would be his tenth wedding anniversary. Ten years, he thought. I had so many plans back then.

He remembered how his wife’s eyes had shone as she repeated her vows. Rose deserves so much more, he thought. I know she’s praying for me, but will she wait for a loser? Our boys need a daddy. They’ll be teens before I get out.

As he thought about his children growing up without their father, just as he had, pain curled around his heart. Crying was not something he wanted to do, but within his mind, he bellowed, God, if you are real, you’ve got to help me!

In the quiet moments that followed, an idea settled into his mind: Get that old Bible and start at the beginning. He shook off the command. I can’t read.

The thought persisted, though. Finally, Carlos stood up, numbly thinking just holding the Bible might offer comfort. He opened the drawer. —SANDRA

Lord, life has taught me prison comes in many forms. No matter my situation, help me to seek your true freedom.

The principles of the Bible are the groundwork of human freedom.

—HORACE GREELEY (1811–1872), AMERICAN JOURNALIST AND POLITICIAN