Last night was shattered by a call from a dear friend. She told me that a man we all love and respect, a good man in the prime of his life has been diagnosed with a life threatening illness.
A pawl has descended over us. We echo that favorite question of all needy Christians: “Why, God, why?” And the response does not come.
I saw a t-shirt that had a huge 2020 printed on it. Underneath there was the outline of five stars, with only one filled in. The review said: “Very bad. Would not visit again.” Most people feel that way about the last 12 months. It has been more than difficult and the aftermath is still affecting us. Loss of loved ones, loss of jobs, we’ve been shut up in our homes like caged tigers, pacing back and forth, and the bad news keeps on coming.
Meanwhile the world continues to turn. The leaves change color just like always, they drop from the trees, black Friday comes along and millions buy a TV at a “give-away price”. The Christmas trees go up and will come down. Yet all along there are those who smile bravely as they walk through their particular brand of hell.
As a city, we’ve lost more than 200 people through criminal homicide this year. These killings affect us all, especially the mothers, who deal with loss and sorrow for the rest of their lives. The local children grow up expecting their lives to be short having seen so many acts of violence all around them, and whole neighborhoods live in a general angst of fear and grief. It seems 2020 has been a banner year for sadness.
Prayers are where we start, but we know we have to do more than pray about the criminal homicides here. Eighty-three percent of those murders are committed by a convicted felon. That means when they got out of prison they went back to the life that sent them there in the first place. But the failure is not completely their fault.
Transitioning from incarceration is so difficult and laden with pitfalls, it’s no wonder so many fail. When they are released they need money, they need housing, and they need guidance if we are to break the chain of events that lead back to crime. After perhaps years of living with virtually no decision-making power, they then have to figure all that out pretty much on their own. This is not a recipe for success.
So, first, they need a job. Unite Indy has developed the first website that lists jobs for returning prisoners and has trained a corp of people to teach men and women in prison how to get and keep a job after release—giving them understanding of the culture of the workplace and providing them with mentors who can guide them through the difficult transition. With a job and support comes the stability that has been proven to be able to launch a person into a better life.
For today I will pray and claim success for our friend’s return to health. I claim success for those who have been battered by the storm that is 2020, and for those many men and women who will be released this year and get jobs though our programs. And once again I will ask, “Why God, why?” Knowing I probably won’t get an answer.
I guess that’s what faith is all about,
Nancy
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