True GratitudeThis morning I was working at my desk and needed something from a certain folder. When I got the folder and opened it, a letter was the first thing I saw and knew instantly that it was what I wanted to share with you all this month.This was something I shared with some of you a few years ago, but I felt it needed to be shared with all of us today. It is from an inmate. It was written from his perspective – to you, to me, to each of us. “Brown is a drab color. I wear this color each and every day. You see, wearing brown signifies that I'm an inmate and make no mistake I deserve to be here for what I've done.That being said, wearing brown day in and day out can make us forget what it's like to wear other colors…enter the volunteers. They remind us that while we may be wearing brown, we are also blues and greens and reds in life. Meaning the volunteers enter our lives and remind us that while it's true that we're inmates, we're not just inmates. We are also sons, brothers, uncles, friends, husbands, grandfathers and fathers. The volunteers believe in us and choose to see the rainbow of other colors within us. The volunteers choose to look past our past, beyond our labels and towards the things that most never take the time to acknowledge. They in no way discard or minimize who we were or what we've done, but they instead place their energy into taking the time to really get to know us. They choose to see what we still can be in life and do all they can to help us achieve that ''can be.'' Thank you for seeing us how we are today, or how we may be tomorrow, instead of how we once may have been." I read this and I am reminded of what gratitude is supposed to look like. I am also reminded of how easily we on the outside can let our circumstances dictate our daily lives. I am reminded of how our struggles can make us feel anything but grateful ... and then we go into the prisons where some may never leave. And we are met not by despair or misery. We are met by joy. We are met by appreciation and an excitement that is nothing short of contagious. I am reminded of scripture from 1 Thessalonians. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
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