Susan LaffertyWe walked into a solitary confinement cell at Alcatraz. Dark and small. With double doors to keep out any light. No way of escape.
The prisoners that were allowed to look outside or walk to the yard, had stunning views of San Francisco and the surrounding towns. Beautiful hills and shores.
But those in solitary saw nothing much beyond the confining walls of their dark cells.
The weight on my heart is not a frantic, anxious weight. It’s the weight of prayer. Prayer for my dear friend who is suffering. She wades through deep waters in this season. Crushed.
Crying out to You the hurt. The upheaval. The unknown.
And yet, even there she speaks of Your faithfulness. Even there, Your word sustains. Daily manna, she says. And ponders what the God of the impossible can do.
“If we believe He is who He says He is, how can we not hope?”
“Repent! Turn from your wicked ways.” Images of a street corner preacher flicker across my mind. My wicked ways as a child involved telling a lie about sneaking a piece of candy. Or pinching my brother and sister. Or talking back to my parents. Hardly the stuff of dramatic “repent and believe” testimonies.
After I repented and believed as a child, I was baptized. Thus began my walk with the Lord. That initial “repent and believe” is the forever turning point in my life. The time Jesus saved me from my sin. He put His seal, the Holy Spirit, on my heart. I am His for eternity.