Freedom

I'm sure some of my friends (and even some of my family) think I'm crazy, but I went for the second time today to visit Mike in jail. It's a miracle that I made it, actually...Taylor said he'd pick me up at 6:20 this morning, so I set TWO alarms for 5-ish, a few minutes off from each other, to ensure that I would wake in time to shower & be ready to go when he got here. Neither went off. I woke up on my own somehow at 6:08 and absolutely panicked! I'm not a morning person, but I sprang out of bed, used the bathroom & brushed my teeth at lightning speed, and pulled on jeans & a sweater JUST in time to see Taylor's headlights pulling into the driveway through my curtains. I scooped some makeup into a bag & ran downstairs just as Taylor got to the door, and once I got into his car, I finally took a breath. I'm not sure I'd taken one up to that point, haha. We went to pick up our friend Matt, then stopped at a gas station for coffee & to fill up, and then got on the road. We saw a beautiful sunrise that for a few minutes silenced our conversation except for a few words of praise to God for the gorgeous morning. Once inside the facility, I had no issue getting in like last time, except that I still set off the metal detector three times & got wanded, haha. I worried a bit that the UV stamp didn't transfer well enough onto my hand...it was quite faint...but there were no issues with my shoes or anything, and they let me in and back out, so I guess the stamp was good enough. Having been before, the intimidation factor was gone for me, and that was great! Taylor and I were called back within twenty minutes or so; Matt had a few hangups getting in, but made it with the next batch of people after Taylor and me. Mike has grown a full beard, just for the heck of it...Taylor didn't recognize him at first. I'm surprised I did! He works in the "chow hall" in the prison, clearing food trays for something like $0.45 an hour, but he doesn't complain, since all his needs are provided for. His pay goes toward the niceties...paper to write letters, stamps, pens & pencils, and he bought a little radio. He said the amount of food waste is unbelievable...they throw away between 7 & 9 HUGE trash bins of uneaten food with every meal. Crazy! From the conversations I was hearing around us, the talk of the prison is that some apparently famous rapper is in there...I don't listen to rap, so I've never heard of the guy, but he goes by T.I. and he's in the block below Mike. We mostly talked about God and what He's doing in Mike's life right now. I love the irony of visiting a prison to talk to the freest man on the planet, but I really believe he is. Like last time, I saw no trace of the demon that landed him in that place, but instead saw bright eyes turned upon Jesus. He's a miracle. His body might be confined right now, but his spirit certainly is not. It is free in a way it never was before, and it amazes me to see God moving in him. We stayed about three and a half hours, once we got in, then said our goodbyes. Matt bought lunch for the three of us and we all just talked and laughed the whole way back to Searcy.
It's always uplifting to be around Taylor. He's got quite a fire inside of him and I have been so blessed to know him & his sweet wife, Elizabeth. I enjoyed getting to know Matt a little better today, too. They're both good men and I know they will continue to be blessings to Mike, and for that, I am ever thankful.