“I was sentenced to life in prison in 2003, and I wanted to die. I never thought I would be able to make it through the sentence, and frankly, I did not want to.”
Three years into the sentence I was in the punishment block in prison, and I had made plans for my death. I made a noose in the morning and I planned to use it after the night shift started and the staff had changed over.
I was sat on my bed waiting for the guards to go past for the last time when I heard a voice in my head say ‘just read that Bible on the shelf there’. That book was just an ornament to me and I had never given it a second thought, but knowing I had some time before all was quiet I picked it up and started to read.
I could not stop reading. When I got to the story of the Prodigal Son I just knew that God could forgive me. In a moment I went from hopelessness to hope. Looking back at that time in my life, deep down I needed to know that I could be forgiven. Finding that out changed everything for me, I felt alive.
When I got out of prison I was excited, but after receiving rejection after rejection I started to lose that hope.
I could not get a job, I did not feel accepted in the church I joined and I was struggling to adapt to life after a long sentence. After a foot operation, I was prescribed painkillers and through that, I lapsed back into addiction, and that’s how I ended up on Liberty Farm and in Walk.
Being at Walk has restored my hope. I am learning new skills, I am in a great church and I am surrounded by the support of everyone in the ministry.
I think a lot of people in my situation would be scared. I am 58 now and I do not have any pension, any savings or anything financially to fall back on. But I have learned to trust God and that gives me the courage to live one day at a time, knowing that my life is in His hands and He has a future for me.
Stories of hope and of lives changed
We have lots of stories to share with you. Stories of hope, stories of lives changed, stories that will encourage you and stories that will blow you away. Follow the link below to read more.
