This week fear is our topic for discipleship. As we talked with the younger boys yesterday, a little 5-year old shared that he is afraid of gunshots...it really brings home to me the reality he lives in. He's only 5, but still violence is so real in his life. And today in the prison one of the boys shared about how he's afraid of dying when he leaves prison because he's doing time for killing someone and is afraid of vengeance. As he shared I could tell it was really deep. I shared with him the promises of God from the Bible, but said that although God is our protector, we need to allow God to take charge of our life. He was very moved by what we shared and we led him and some others to receive Christ in their lives. A powerful time, which I am still feeling impacted by. The urgency and reality of these boys I think will always touch my heart. It is something I will carry with me even after I leave; and I know I will miss being able to go in and minister to and get to know these boys who have very strong life-stories, but who are just kids after all.
“Where can I find life?” has been a question I have asked myself a lot recently (but really for years). And really the deeper question is: “What is life, and what does it look like?” I guess the simple answer is whatever makes you feel alive on the inside; that brings a smile to your face; and that gives you energy and increases your capacity. There are so many side-effects of burn-out; or maybe they are rather causes of burn-out, which when combined become a huge mountain that can topple even the strongest of people. But once you have been depleted of your capacity to stand in the face of the challenges around you, one of the things that can help increase your energy and capacity is finding pockets of life. (And of course a lot of other things like rest, exercise, patience when the process is slow, setting boundaries etc. but that’s for another blogpost). The past months I’ve been watching and searching and paying attention. Searching for choices that will bring life, and paying att