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Saturday, February 16, 2019

At Light's Edge - Chapter 7: Snakeskins & Butterflies


Seven
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Snakeskins & Butterflies

“Last call for the Cyrene meeting,” announced the Control Officer over the unit’s intercom.
Four youths lined up, including Roland Cords. Renie wondered, What's this Perv doing going to a Christian meeting? He stared at Cords for a moment, but the Perv simply lowered his eyes to avoid any appearance of acknowledgement. Joey was not among the group and Renie wondered what had happened to change his celly’s mind. Once the group entered the meeting hall, Renie made his way to the right side and sat between one other construction crew inmate and Cornell Purdue.
“What’s up, kid? Glad you made it,” greeted the boy whose muscles filled more than his chair.
“I was fourth on the list for my unit. They only had places for five.”
“When you go back tonight, tell your housing officer you want to be a regular out here. They like that kinda thing. It helps the cops with their routines, knowin’ where everybody is supposed to be all the time.”
“Sure thing. That is if I like it out here or not.”
Cornell flexed his arms and replied, “I hear ya, man, I hear ya.”
Renie scanned the room with the eye of a hawk.
Cornell noticed his newbie construction buddy surveying the area and said, “See that big guy over there in the second row?”
“The Indian?”
“Yeah, but he’s half Indian, the real term nowadays is Native American, and he's half Mexican too. He was a prospect for some motorcycle gang outta Texas. He killed three rival bikers tryin’ to get his colors.”
“A jacket with a patch ain’t worth that kinda trouble,” lamented Renie. “I bet he stirred up a hornets nest down there.”
“That be why he’s here. But I heard he gots a contract out on him, so stay clear of him or you just gonna end up bein’ collateral damage.”
“Thanks for the tip, Cornell. I owe ya.”
“That’s one on the house, kid, consider it a freebie. Anyway, you'z a good worker and I need good workers on the infirmary project. We try to make it a home away from home out there, a place of hard work and relaxation for the soul. And me bein’ away from my home back out on the streets is always best.”
“I hear ya.” Though Renie liked his home he realized that most criminal youths came from horrible home environments. For many, their self-created criminal empires were the only place they could be kings and have people take notice. A group of wayward friends were the only family and the only place of belonging they had ever known; a place where they could mask their loneliness with the temporary thrill of committing unlawful acts.
When the preacher entered the room a lot of whooping and hollering went on, it soon subsided once the youths saw that the man and his two associates were smiling. He was not the typical preacher looking type. His hair was almost down to his shoulders and he was wearing regular clothes. His eyes were friendly and displayed a caring softness. The two others with him also looked like regular people off of the street. The preacher man gestured his hand for everyone to be quiet and addressed the boys, “I’m Clifford James. These two friends of mine are Lenny Vance and Byron Burns, you can call all of us by our first names; we are part of a ministry for youthful offenders called Cyrene.”
Some of the boys in the group knew of church related names but Cyrene was new to all of them. Renie remembered about a man in the Bible, Simon of Cyrene, who helped carry the cross of Jesus part of the way to the crucifixion site. Renie sat and listened carefully with all of the rest of the youths.
Lenny stated, “Our ministry is named after a man’s town mentioned in the Bible. Can anyone tell me what that might be?” He looked around at the blank faces.
Renie raised his hand, as did one other youth, the Perv.
Byron pointed toward Renie, “Yes?”
“Simon of Cyrene carried the cross of Christ.”
“That is it,” confirmed Byron.
Lenny continued, “He helped Jesus bear that heavy cross when Jesus needed the help. Of course Simon was compelled to do that by the Romans, but we are focusing on what he did, carry the cross for Christ.”
The three ministry leaders took turns explaining how their ministry worked; how they were there to help shoulder the burdens of prison life these youth faced.
One youth yelled out, “You preachers are only here for a couple of hours on Fridays and gone after that.”
“We are working it out with the Warden to see if it is possible to give each of you our hotline phone number. We know you have only so many minutes and number of calls each week, so this would be for emergency calls only, those desperate times when you need someone to talk to in confidence,” responded Clifford. “We hope that you will first try to find your answers in the Bible and talk among yourselves before calling. It’s important to develop good solid contacts between yourselves.”
Byron went on to explain that the Bible was not a prayer book or a collection of precious magic promises, “It’s a manual for life,” he affirmed, “and for a godly life.”
Lenny told them that a new life could be found in Jesus the Christ. He told them it was like a caterpillar changing into a butterfly, a tadpole changing into a frog, or a snake shedding its old skin; they could change, but it needed to come from the inside, from the heart. “Bein’ religious ain’t any fun,” he went on. “Who wants more rules to follow? Nobody. That’s why Christ came to set you free from focusing on all of the dos and don’ts and to live a life where you talk to him in prayer, which can be just in a silent thought or whisper, and to look for your answers in God’s written words found in the Bible.”
“But it’s just a book, man,” a kid yelled out.
A few "Yeah, that’s right!" comments quickly followed.
Clifford interjected, “The Bible is comprised of sixty-six books written over a period of at least fifteen hundred years. It was composed by over forty authors in three languages on three different continents, and it covers a consistent theme… the Messiah.”
The three told the boys that they could be free even in prison. Lenny read about the Apostle Paul’s life and explained how Paul had written much of the Bible’s New Testament while in prison. “Even the Apostle John was imprisoned.”
“These men were made up of simple fisherman, a tax collector, a political activist, just regular people off of the streets,” Byron informed the group. He told the boys about his own life of dealing with drug addiction, burglary and crime. “I was a preacher’s kid, PK as they are called, and I came from a long line of preachers, my dad, granddad, great-granddad, and on back into the 1800’s. I wasn’t going to be no preacher, but once God got ahold of me and his Spirit tugged at my heart, I was hooked and set free. Remember, God catches his fish before he ever cleans them. He takes you as you are; not by might or power, but by his Spirit.”
“What about when we get out of prison, what then?” asked one of the youths on the left side of the meeting room.
“We are in the process of setting up help centers in large homes in as many of the major cities as possible. Follow-up is important. What good is it to give someone a fork and not the dinner to go with it?” Clifford rhetorically questioned.
The boys laughed.
The preacher continued, “No, we are setting up the Cyrene Youth Centers so we can be there for you whenever you need us. You leave your colors at the door; everyone is equal when they walk through the entrance, same as in here.”
The meeting adjourned with prayer and the handing out of free Bibles, the Perv quickly grabbed the largest one. Renie took a Bible even though he already had one back at the house. He figured having a spare wouldn’t hurt. Anyway, he thought, I can give it to Joey if he wants it.
“One last thing,” Clifford addressed the youths while they lined up to be escorted back to their units, “Only God can change you inside. So ask him to fill you with his Holy Spirit. Tell God that you accept the blood of Jesus as payment for all of your sins forever, and read your Bibles. We will talk about that more next Friday. Revelations chapter twelve verse eleven, read it for next time. God bless!”


Next Chapter: The Room

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