You expect a lot of unexpected things to happen when you work with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people. The stories are incredible – all the time. I frequently tell people that miracles happen so often that we forget that they are miracles, but they really are. Transformation. Reunification. Forgiveness. Belonging. Mercy. Purpose. Each of these words represents years or decades of work. Each of them represent a miracle.
What I did not expect is how many messages I would receive from people who have a family member or friend in prison, who are also looking for a way to better support them. I think I get at least one message a day, sometimes more. Incarceration is not simply something that happens to “those people” – it happens to a lot of us.
Officially the stat is 1 in 3. One in three Americans have been incarcerated at least once in their lives. Sometimes it is simply overnight in a country jail; but nevertheless, that is a lot of people. No wonder why I receive so many messages . . .
In Texas, there are roughly 140,000 inmates in state prisons, with the average sentence being 23 years. The majority of them are men; and a lot of those men are also fathers. They have families, and incarceration effects everyone.
The real struggle is that even when someone is released, they are still incarcerated by public opinion – even when 33% of them have had a similar experience. People make a mistake – sometimes a very serious one – they do their time; they do the work; but forgiveness is not easily offered.
What does it take for us to offer, not just forgiveness, but mercy? Mercy – not a forgetting of what has happened as if that is possible – but a transcending what has happened. Perhaps if more of us know how many of us there are; and how easily any of us could be them; we would be more willing to offer a second chance when the time comes.