Jail

I am still up and around but feeling a little weak. This virus was a biggie. Pushed me down longer than most. I hope none of you out there get this one.

I have been meaning to blog about scenes I have witnessed from the jail. I live near the jail and drive by it often. I see little snippets of scenes from their lives as I drive by in my comfortable air-conditioned car....families waiting outside to see someone inside...sometimes with a baby in a stroller or infant seat...sometimes an older couple sitting huddled on a concrete bench looking very uncomfortable and out of place...many are smoking as they wait. I also see those who are just released...hugging their families and babies...unrestrained affection for their parents....and a look of relief. There are those that are just released that make me the saddest...those walking away from jail alone...papers in a big envelope and just the clothes on their backs. No one has picked them up, there is probably no home to go home to or it is far away and they look so completely lost. Yes, they are probably happy to be released but so unsure about what the future holds that it kind of takes away the joy of being released. When I see them walking along the side of the road, my heart goes out to them. I know that somewhere there is someone who is related to them who at the very least loved them at some point during their life...mother, father, sister, brother, children, girlfriend or wife...but somewhere along the line something went terribly wrong.
I love that so many at our church are involved with ministry in the jails and prisons. Jesus would have gone to the jail...they are the least of us and he would have loved them and valued them.