take 2: september 28th – inside/out

Hi Sweetheart,

I received your card yesterday, the one that was hilarious!  And the pics were great too.  One of you and Mals sitting on a chair and one of Kayti and Ryan at the piano.  When I get mail people crowd around wondering who it is from.  And when I get pics inside, even more people crowd around to get a glimpse of who you are and what your life is really like on the outside.  It’s great for starting conversations and making connections.  It also, and this may be the most important aspect, confirms what you have been telling people.  “I’m married, I have three kids.”  They see the picture and your credibility strengthens in their eyes.  You’re a man of your word, Huge in here.  People in here are always looking, checking to make sure things add up, so to speak.

Interesting story to share.  There is an old man in here, I think he is 59, and everyone calls him “Pops.”  He’s lived a hard and fast life.  He really looks like he could be in his late 60’s or early 70’s.  He gets along with everyone real good, even though he is one of those “feisty old men.”  He drops f-bombs like they are going out of style and has a story for every occasion.  He and I have seemed to hit it off, he likes to just sit and talk with me.  I think that he sees me as someone he can trust, an honest man.  I’ve seen him size people up pretty quickly, so the fact that he is still talking to me says a lot.  Anyway, one day after Bible Study he sits down at the table and wants to share a story from his past about those “f’in Christian hipocrates.”  I say “okay,” and invited him to share.  At the table were Carlos, Fred and I.  It was the typical story of a church that put a higher value on outward appearances and thus had shunned him.  We don’t know the intimate details, but since this is “his” story, perception is reality.  I thanked him for sharing, apologized for his negative experience and talked about the church being the body, the body being the people, and people being human.  In essence, don’t blame God for what misguided humans do.  He was processing the information, I could tell.  Then he just got up and walked away, in typical “Pops” fashion.

So this week, which is about a week after he had shared with us that story, he came up to me again.  I was just standing in the day room, people watching, and he walked up with a smile on his face and asked, “How ya doin’?  So we made small talk for a minute or two and then, from out of the blue he asked me, “Have you ever saved anyone?” I wasn’t expecting that and I asked him to clarify.  So he said, “You know, brough someone to Jesus?”  I quickly answered with an excited, “Yes.”  His response was a semi-impressed “Good.”  I asked him if he would like to be the next and he just smiled, told me “not yet” and walked away.  I’m curious to see how God plays this one out.  It’s exciting just to be involved.

Back to the cards and letters.  You always know just the perfect card to send.  That’s another thing I love about you.  Thank you for investing the effort to do that, and for the updates with the cards.  Hearing about your day, getting updates on the kids, and being brought up to speed on the “goings on” down there help me to feel involved.

I’ll write more later.  Thank you for your words of encouragement.

I love you, Scott

But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.  Jeremiah 17:7

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