BY DAWN REED
At the jail Sunday, female inmates sat on the floor as we studied the first part of the Christmas story. Due to the number incarcerated, we were squeezed into the visitation room. No one complained.
We always begin by telling them why we’re there. We want to remind them that God sees them and still loves them dearly. To be truthful, these girls desperately need to hear that. (Doesn’t everyone?) Many of them have burned so many bridges-ALL the bridges. More than a few have no family left to turn to.
Often at this stage, at this place, they feel they can’t even talk to God. He is the one they’ve lied to the most. They wonder how they can pray to Him when they have let Him down so much. They have promised many things for His help and then gone back on their word. In the still time of incarceration, the devil has a field day in their minds.
Sometimes they are angry with God, blaming Him for where they’ve ended up. Quite often, though, He got them there as an answer to prayer. It’s not uncommon for a prayer for help out of drug addiction or a dangerous situation to soon be followed by the blue lights of a police car. Countless times over the years, a trip to jail has saved a life.
These are the girls at the jail-the girls we love-sitting quietly in tattered uniforms with broken sandals, hearts, and dreams. They came voluntarily, hoping to hear a good word, some good news. That’s exactly what we had.
We prayed, and then for a bit, we were just a bunch of women in a Bible study.
Luke 1 and Matthew 1 were our focus, breaking them down into parts. We had to go back to the beginning to understand the Christmas story. We talked about God’s Plan A: a perfect world, and then because of sin, His Plan B: the promised Savior. We read prophecies from the Old Testament. Isaiah 7:14 told that a virgin would be with child. Micah 5:2 recorded that the Messiah would come out of Bethlehem. Mary was not in Bethlehem. Oh, yes, God would get Mary to Bethlehem. Right now, though, she was going to be a pregnant young girl in Nazareth.
Mary was “troubled” at the angel’s words. We all agreed stepping out and believing God takes faith. We spoke Luke 1:37 out loud three times: “For nothing is impossible with God. For nothing is impossible with God. For nothing is impossible with God.” It’s a good verse whether you’re in jail or not.
Filled with good news from the angel, Mary rushed to tell her betrothed. Her wonderful, amazing, mind-blowing news was not well received; Joseph did not believe her. While he didn’t want to have her killed, he was at least divorcing her. To be the servant of the Lord did not seem to have many perks at first. We read about the angel speaking to Joseph and his courageous obedience.
It was only the beginning of the story. God’s perfect timing will have us back at the jail on Christmas morning. Most of the girls will still be there. They will learn about the shepherds-the outcasts of society. They will find that the Christmas story is not like the Christmas cards show. It was not the sweet, clean picture we see displayed. There were difficult, scary, and dirty pieces of an eternal puzzle God fit perfectly together. He can still do that. He still does that!
When our time came to a close, we hugged each girl, and they trudged back to their cells. We pray that the Scriptures will soak into their bone marrow.
The good news of Jesus can pierce the darkest situations, the darkest night. We pray that this Christmas, with no tree, no presents, and no family gatherings, the girls will realize that Jesus is enough. That first Christmas, there was only one gift: Jesus. He was for the whole world and exactly what we needed.