Is This “Real Ice Cream”.....

I like ice cream. My favorite is probably cookies and cream. I was dipping some out the other day and I was surprised to see that on the front of the box was written in big red letters----”Real Ice Cream”. I stopped and laughed, it's pretty bad when they have to stamp the box with “Real Ice Cream”. I went into the Lebanon County Correctional Center the other night with our group to visit some of the girls in prison. I couldn't help think of them today. for they know what the word “real” means. They know some very “real” things. They know how real it is to be alone. They know how real it is to be in prison, to suffer bullying, to be broken and sad. I have never in my 20 years of visiting prisons justified anyone from being in prison. I have visited an all male facility (maximum security) in MD. I've visited the prisons in Florida and Virginia several times. I've visited the prison in Kauai HI. The Maui HI prison, I've visited 6 times, one time visiting 13 cell blocks, which took me 3 days to do it. I have visited many prisons here in PA and have done many crime impact classes for the state.

But, I have never justified or excused them from being there. The strange thing is that most of the prisoners don't have to be told that they deserve to be there. They know what they did was wrong. They know that they made bad choices. And many want to change their lives, they just don't know how. Mercy and accountability walk hand in hand. For as much as they know that some things are “real”, they are usually at a loss as to other things that are “real”.

Wonder if it could become real to them, and they could truly grasp, that they do matter? Wonder if they could dare hope that they could change, that their lives could be better, that they could break the cycle of pain and bad choices?? Could this be truly “real”, they wonder. And we get to go in and tell them, “yes, it is truly real”---God does love you. You do matter. He sees every tear that falls. He knows your hurt and pain and even your anger. He knows what you came from, and if you let Him, He will show you what you can become. It all starts by knowing that God is truly real, and that you do truly matter. I love to share my stories with the inmates and plant that seed of hope in their hearts. I love to tell them that we can go on to be a Victor. I often wish I had a stamp that says “real God”, instead of “real ice cream”. Be blessed my friends and know that you “do matter”.