Fear kills more dreams than failure ever will"
—Anonymous
Fear is the very basis of everything that holds us back from our true destiny. For a person who is reentering society after incarceration, it can be traumatic to even think about living on the outside. Inmates become "institutionalized," by living in a system that makes every decision for them. Often they are more frightened of living without rules than living forever in a cell.They worry: How will I eat, where will I live? Will I be able to get a job? As crazy as it may sound, many will reoffend just to go back to a place they consider to be "safe." Fear is the jet fuel behind the high recidivism rate.
It was Jesus who reminded his followers to "Remember Lot's wife," who looked back at her burning home and turned into a pillar of salt. She was frozen in the past. Institutionalized prisoners are frozen in the past too. Unable to move into the life that is dawning in front of them. One reentrant said, "just changing your thinking from prison politics to what society expects from you is a huge challenge. Most of us are constantly looking over our shoulders and are jumpy for a while…it is almost impossible to succeed without a solid support system."
What about that required support system? If we are to help those who need a hand during reentry, perhaps we have to face our own fears. Some will admit they are afraid of getting to know someone who has committed a crime, someone who needs the most basic advice on how to succeed in a normal world. What we fail to realize is that when we do not help, we withhold the key to the promised future and a hope—the golden key that truly opens prison doors once and for all. How can we let fear keep us from that great adventure?
In life, our challenge is always to step out and press on to assist others, as Paul said, to look forward and not back, as we cross the road to care for the stranger, creating a consecrated future for ourselves and the people we serve.
We could use your help when the new Marion County Jail opens. To learn more, Click Here.
Jim
