Sometimes life gets mundane. I go through doing the same things every day and not much seems to change. That’s life. It’s also partially intentional. My recovery wants a certain amount of routine in order to work fluidly. Knowing what “comes next” is a good thing for me. It allows me to respond instead of react when variances and anomalies arise.

I had an anomaly this weekend. Things were cruising along as expected. Even with Thanksgiving in the mix, things were unsurprising. Family, food, and football. When I was just about to wrap things up with our Sunday class at the prison things changed. I tend to ask if there are any final thoughts or parting shots when we are done with our classes. Yesterday Michael pulled an envelope out of his books when I asked the question. I figured it was someone’s birthday and he wanted to make a special announcement so we could recognize them.

Nope.

It was a Christmas card signed by not just the men in the class, but several men who know us through reputation. I was overwhelmed. In all my years of prison ministry I’ve never gotten such a gesture. The time, thought, effort that it took to coordinate it was not insignificant. Sure, it was a store bought card that the men signed, but there’s no store in prison. What it said went well beyond the stock greeting written by someone far away. The messages that they included brought tears to my eyes. It was so heartfelt. It showed that we had made that starfish difference. I probably will not receive a more cherished card or gift this entire Christmas season. Sometimes all you have to do is open up in order to…

–Rise Up!!