Prison Place

Miracles need a hand

Prison Lessons from Cartoons

Don’t get me started on comparing prison issues with cartoons, I could go all day!!

But I was watching a Christmas cartoon the other night, one called, “Twas Then Night Before Christmas”, one of those good ‘ol fashioned cartoons. Anyway, there was a song in there called, “Even A Miracle Needs A Hand”.

Mind you, I have seen this cartoon numerous times, but I was thinking about prison issues when I heard the song. In essence, the song was pretty much saying that if you are going to believe in a miracle, you have to help it happen. Granted the song was talking about Santa, but you could just as easily substitute God for that.

How many of you are looking for a miracle for a loved one in prison? Probably most of you, especially those with loved ones doing life sentences, in for the first time, or in with serious charges.

There was a line that I hope to remember right, that goes, “you pray, while I plan”.

Kinda profound. And it goes against most of what people, even Christians, believe. There are a couple of ways t rephrase that. One by using the Bible….

“Faith without works is dead”.

There is another way to rephrase that Christmas song….

“Talk is cheap!”

When God hands out the honor awards, I realize I won’t be anywhere near the front. But I do know that often times we as a people give up on loved ones in prison for one reason or another. Society has clearly done this (and we call our country a forgiving nation). But when I visit prison support sites, I see so many people in prayer circles and stuff, HOPING God will hear their prayer.

You know folks, I realize that there are sometimes where you don’t have any way of helping a situation, so all you can do is pray. For example, I was listening to a song on a Christian station today about letters from soldiers in Kuwait and prayers that they made and how they were answered. They were answered because people here were praying. But every person here who prayed for those soldiers could only do that…pray.

Often times this is all you can do for inmates too. Pray. But sometimes there is more you can do. Too many times we just get stuck in the mud and only think about the problem, not looking for a solution.

And some of you are about to open your mouth and say that there is no solutions for your loved ones in prison. That is your problem. You have already given up.

Can we find solutions to any problem? I theory we can, if God is on our side. I say this as a Christian, but not the best Christian on the planet. But I can say for a fact that there are solutions to every problem. But we won’t find them by worrying about our loved ones in prison.

In fact, that is the problem…constant worry. You can’t do both. You can’t sit there making post about “God will make a way” and all that stuff, while you are broken up about your loved one every second of the day. Like the song says, “You pray, while I plan”

There were other verses too, but they said the same thing. If you are looking for a miracle, then you have to add something to it to help it along. If your son is in a youth prison and you fear his safety, then your first job is to pray for his safety. Priority one.

Is that all? Of course not!

Is it possible that God will protect your son? Sure, but what if He, in His wisdom, is also telling you to find ways to get him transferred? If you just sit on your hands, you son remains in that prison. But the longer he sits there, you may start to lose faith, and in those fleeting moments, he might fall into harm.

But I prayed to God for protection!

Yep, but you also doubted too. What is the solution you are really looking for? Are you just looking for God to protect him or are you looking for a prison where you son AND YOU will feel more safe about the situation?

And let’s push this further. If you prayed to God for help, and got it, then that should put you in a realm of peace. If so, then you now have power to help thousands of other moms just like you through your experience. How many moms out there need to know that God CAN , rather than God “might”?

In doing that, helping others, you become stronger in your faith, which helps your son. I will not say that he won’t ever encounter problems, heck I did. Prison itself is a haven for problems. But he can come through unscathed. THAT is what you are praying for.

But none of this means a thing if you don’t act. A prayer for a loved one in prison is just words; the results come from your faith in that prayer. You can go to a prayer circle and have 50 people in it, but there might be only 3 or 4 that really believe. Take it from one who has been there.

Anyone who has read my first book of “Grades of Honor” will remember what I said about God in that prayer circle in prison. There were probably about 12 or so guys on that yard as we held hands and prayed. But I promise you, the thoughts in my head were so hatred against God, I think the pearly gates turned gray.

But if you are going to help your loved one, remember that you have to keep your eyes open for solutions. Any miracles you are seeking will indeed need your help. Not just your faith, but also your works.

What results are you looking for with your son? What plans are you making to help him? Are you looking for information about prisons and what inmates go through? What are the rules of the prison? Who can you call or write when there is a problem? There are parts of that checklist that you need to have in order to help your loved one.

In that cartoon, it was Christmas Eve, and the children were telling their father that there is no use hanging anything on the tree, since Santa wasn’t coming (you’d have to know the story to know why Santa wasn’t coming). The father, who was a clockmaker, fixed the town clock to play a nice tune for Santa to bring him back to the town, but it was sabotaged and didn’t work. But even on that night, Christmas Eve, he still held on to some faith. He told his kids that it wasn’t too late, and there was still a chance for a miracle. This is where the song came from.

After encouraging his kids to believe, the mouse that accidentally sabotaged the clock was listening from afar, and the song touched him to tears. It caused him to repent and do what he could to make things right. As it happened, he fixed the clock just in time, and brought Santa to the town.

And who says cartoons are for kids????

Maybe you can’t make things right with a loved one in prison, but you can be his or her strongest source of strength. But you can’t do that as a weakling, cowering over every day he is in prison. Maybe this is why there is so much problems in prison. Imagine what it would be like if even 10% of inmates had strong faithful loved ones who not only prayed, but acted.

Think about that. Any site can have 1000 people praying, but to be honest, I can tell you I am “praying for you” when I really am not. It is just a saying that many don’t take seriously. If you say you are going to pray for someone, you BETTER do it. Not so the world will know, not so anyone else would know, but to show God that you take that time seriously. I think, and I could be wrong, that THESE are the prayers God will listen to and answer.

But to answer it still requires you to act. Don’t belittle yourself to think that you are just a nobody. That kind of thinking does not bring miracles. YOU bring miracles, with God’s help of course.