What? Did I read that right? That man must be on some medication
to think that. No, I’m not on medication and yes, you did read that right. Why,
you may ask, is prison a blessing? Well, let me take a couple of minutes and
tell you why.
After drinking and doing drugs for 30 years, I became incarcerated in
2002. My crime was a result of those years of partying and having no contact
with my higher power, who I call Jesus. When I got to prison, I thought my life
was over at the age of 45. Little did I know that my life was going to undergo
fantastic changes.
The prison that I’m in offers NA (Narcotics Anonymous) and AA meetings
and someone told me to check them out. I did and I actually began to
enjoy getting off the tier a couple of nights a week. Slowly but surely the message
began to sink into my drug-induced stupor. Then I started taking the 12-
step program in each fellowship. It seemed like hard work and it was, but the
final results were well worth it. I was finally free of the evil of ACTIVE addiction.
I know my addiction is always around the next corner, waiting for a moment
of weakness to pounce on me again and drag me back down. But with
the 12-steps, I will not let it.
Now, about my higher power, I had grown up an active Christian. I
was an acolyte, choir member, lay reader, and devoted to my church. When
drugs took over my life, God took a back seat and I was along for the ride. I
never thought about my relationship with the higher power until I came to
prison. After I started doing Bible studies, I realized that I had neglected the
only things that could truly help me out of my current situation. The 12 steps
reinforced the importance of my higher power. I am now active in church here
and between that and the Friends meetings, have come to return to the good
Christian beliefs I held so long.
So, as you can see, this is why I say prison is a blessing. After all that
time of heading down the wrong paths of my life, I am now on the highway
back to a correct type of existence. Although my crime will always haunt me
and my victim, I know I am a changed man, but I would have never changed if
I hadn’t come to prison. That is why I say that prison is a blessing.
