Hands Reaching Hearts Touching : Reconciled, Forgiven, and Set Free

This heartwarming devotional is inspired by letters, prayers, and poems written by the inmates, parents, volunteers, and caregivers.     It is comforting to know that during our darkest times of loneliness and loss or when we experience overwhelming feelings of disconnectedness and frustration, God never leaves us.  No matter who we are or where we are in life, admittedly we have all rebelled against the grace, mercy, and love that Jesus so freely offers to each of us. God can?t use perfect people to do His will because there are no perfect people. There has only been one:Jesus Christ. And His death on the cross is what makes salvation (His cleansing blood) and a prophetic vision (His living word) possible for all of us. This relationship begins when we accept Him as our Lord and Savior and repent of our sinful nature. When we erroneously believe that we are smart enough to guide our own paths and make our own decisions, this misguided, directionless behavior oftentimes results in chaos, tragedy, and life-altering events, which bring about loss, sadness, remorse, guilt, and most of all ? emptiness. But the good news is no matter what we?ve done or what sins we have committed, they are all equal in God?s sight. The mission of Forgiven Ministry is to meet the spiritual, physical, and emotional needs of the children of inmates, the inmates themselves, ex-inmates, and families of inmates, with the result of healing wounds inflicted by crime, redirecting lives, and restoring these individuals into the community as productive citizens, parents, and family members. ?Reaching, Reconciling and Restoring Lives is our purpose. By encouraging change from within the individual, we can reduce recidivism, stop the cycle of crime, avoid the waste of human capital, and lessen the burden that offenders and their families place on society. Research has shown that as many as 70 - 80 percent of the children of inmates eventually end up in prison themselves. It?s like a rite of passage, with fathers seeing their sons in the same prison dining hall, wearing the inmate uniform, doing time just like them ? caused by generations of hurt, resentment, convictions, and shattered families. At one prison in Michigan, there were five generations of one family incarcerated in the same prison. Preventing an at-risk child from turning to gangs, drugs and crime is one of the most important ways to make our communities safe and productive for our children in the future? (Forgiven Ministry).