October 22, 2024
It was the first time we had been to the jail since COVID. Two long years. Though we had prayed for them often, seeing the women face to face was what we had longed for.
As we prepped for our first Bible study in 24 months, on Easter, it was easy to overthink it. Because of visitation, we had to meet at seven in the morning. Would they even come out that early? Would it be chaotic? Tamping down distracting thoughts, we pressed on. This was the open door we had prayed for. We would surely march through it.
At seven sharp, girls trickled in from their cells, sitting on hard plastic chairs, some on stacks of pop crates. These women were at an all-time low, one or two still in active addiction. If anyone needed to hear the Good News it was them.
Easter is such an important day and we wanted to bless them so much. With permission, we had treats. Doughnuts and pecan twirls were served on brightly colored plates; coffee and cocoa poured and shared. For just a few minutes it seemed like an ordinary breakfast with a bunch of friends.
Many of the women have lived extremely hard lives. There have been no godly moms or influences. The legacy passed down has been a life of drugs. More than a few are also without loving and faithful fathers in their lives. They’ve often looked for love in the wrong places.
I introduced our Bible study team before we began the lesson. They are precious women with hearts for the down and out. “We just came to remind you that Jesus still loves you,” I told them. “He STILL loves you,” I emphasized. The tears began to flow.
By this point in their lives, incarcerated women typically feel they are beyond the love of Jesus. They have promised too many things to Him, too many times. They feel unworthy of His love-ever. When they are lying on their bunks, the devil pounds their minds with an endless list of mistakes and failures. Since their families have given up on them, they think Jesus probably has, too. They feel hopeless.
The import of this day, this crucial lesson, had weighed heavy on our hearts. I swallowed hard, took an erasable marker in my hand, and began to draw out the Easter story on the whiteboard.
While it is familiar to most, we sometimes find people who have never ever heard the true story of the holiday even once. Such was the case on Sunday. A woman older than me said it was new to her.
Through roughly drawn pictures, I explained Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. We had one verse to share: John 3:16 and it was all we needed. At the end of our time, seven women prayed to accept Christ as their personal Savior. Praise the Lord!
We encouraged them to write down the date. They could remember it as the day that changed everything. Truly that first Easter WAS the day that changed everything!
Luke 4:16-18 tells that Jesus went to the synagogue, took the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, and read: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free…”
The poor, prisoners, the blind, and oppressed are all around us. They need to hear the Good News!
