Choosing to go to Prison

I couldn’t imagine not having touched one of my kids for the first years of their life. No matter what a person has done to cause “no contact incarceration” my heart breaks for the affect it has on the person’s heart and on the life of the child and family.

Last year Ridge Pointers participated in an event called “One Day With God” at the Brookes Correctional facility in Muskegon, Michigan. During the event Pointers were part of assisting the inmates in interacting with their kids. They played games together, did Christmas crafts, shared meals, and had a dance to finish the day. At one point the dads with sons helped the sons learn to tie a tie – a totally new experience for all of them. Dads also had a chance to dance with their daughters.

Some of these dads had been transferred to Brookes from other facilities where they were serving time that prohibited them from physical contact with anyone. All visits where conducted with bullet proof glass in between them and their families. Some of these dads went to prison when the mothers of their children were pregnant and had never touched their son or daughter. “One Day With God” was the first chance they had to touch their child – to hug them and be hugged back.

One of the volunteers responded this way after his time at the Brookes Correctional Facility last year…

I started out the day expecting that I would be used to make sandwiches and pour drinks. What I found out was that God had a bigger plan and that He was using us to help start the process of healing for families that have been impacted by the incarceration of a loved one.  The first evidence I had that something more might be going on here was when James shared that he had not seen his 11 year old daughter since she was one and that he was terrified and that he did not know what he was going to say. I watched a 2 year old boy who started out the day being afraid of his Dad (because he had never met him) go to crying at the end of the day when he had to leave him. I saw daughters, sons, and fathers go from the “awkwardness” of the situation to laughing and joking with tears of joy (there are lots of tears of joy). What I learned by the end of the day is that incarceration affects the entire family and that God’s healing presence can repair what we deem to be un-repairable. Oh by the way the sandwiches weren’t too bad either.

Once again Ridge Point is being given the privilege of providing volunteers for this event on December 4. There is a training session prior to that and all applicants need to be approved by the Michigan State Department of Corrections. If you are up for an event that will change your life and cause you to understand God’s grace far more than you do right now email Doug Cupery (dougc@70x7liferecovery.com) for all the information you will need.