A Look behind the Walls
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SILENT CRIES
For just a moment try to put yourself into each of these situations:
• Imagine that as you turn onto your street at the end of it there are police car lights, flashing bright red & blue. Immediately you are gripped with fear, something’s wrong, one of the kids must be hurt, has my husband had a heart attack? Your mind races as you pull into the driveway and get out of the car. As the policeman approaches you know that your life has been changed forever – you just don’t know how. . . .
• Another scenario involves you talking quietly, confidentially with a co-worker that you perceive is a new friend. She seems so nice, has made you actually hurt as you laugh at her humor. It has been so long since you had a friend you could trust, maybe you could actually share your well-kept secret, but the next day as you walk into the office for a cup of coffee - you know. Everyone stops talking and turns to stare. It’s a look of pity and distrust . . . They know. She told them . . .
• Or possibly, you have rushed to the school to pick up your child. As you pull the car against the curb, she runs toward you with a look of pain. The other kids are taunting her. Through a mere slip of the tongue she told the class that her daddy doesn’t live at home, he’s in prison. . . .
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About the Book
The father is incarcerated; the mother of his children is working two jobs to provide shelter, food, and clothing to the children. Partly as a result of his incarceration, she has grown as a person, due to the obstacles and choices she has had to make, while he has become less confident because of the lack of decisions he is allowed to make. Add to that situation children who have grown up without a father role model in their lives, who are angry and embarrassed over the situations they have been placed in. Throw in the standard judgment of “free world” people. He is there for a reason.
Do we even realize that the whole family is “doing time” together? The only catch is, the kids and wife are doing time for crimes they did not commit. Where is the “hope” in such situations?
About the Author
Connie Alexander has been active in prison ministry for over fifteen years. She is married to Clayton Alexander, founder and executive director of Stepping Stone Ministry, a private Christian halfway house that helps ex-off enders start their re-entry back into society. Connie served as project manager for People of Principle, taking healthy marriage seminars into sixteen prisons in West Texas. Her education consists of a bachelor’s degree from Hardin-Simmons University and a master’s degree at Eastern New Mexico University. Connie is a retired teacher/coach with thirty-five years’ experience.