SURPRISED

I had a pleasant surprise today when they called me out of my morning class to the interview room. I wasn’t expecting anybody, so I said a quick prayer and proceeded to movement control. Now anytime they pull you out of your normal procedure of the day is tense because you never know why or where they are calling you down to. It’s the epitome of having no control. The pleasant part came into play when I found out it was my Pastor from home visiting me. We just “kicked it” for two straight hours. What a blessing! He asked how I was doing and I told him, “I absolutely love life, God is good and I’m at complete peace. I wish everyone could feel what I feel.” I paused for a second and continued, “Pastor they can. This is God, not me.” He knew all that and said he just wished everyone would submit and feel God’s grace and peace.
Along with that topic, the Pastor brought up a skepticism that sent me on a tangent, a good tangent. The skepticism was an opinion-based doubt. It is more along the line of, “You know there are probably a lot of people who may see you at peace or hear you’re at peace, but believe it will wear off in time.” He didn’t say those exact words and he was only talking freely. I responded, “I want to feel this way and live like this the rest of my life.” I told the Pastor of how it is in prison with being real. I told him time will always tell. See in prison, you are around people 24/7, and when you are around people that long, their true colors usually shine through. In prison, you may think you know somebody and that they are stand-up individuals in one way or another (heck we’re all criminals), but eventually time will tell. Consistency is rare in prison. Shoot, consistency is rare in the free world. The tier environment is exactly like a couple newly dating. Everyone is on their best behavior upon meeting, but as time goes on, the real trash comes out. If you want to see somebody’s sincere character, watch their consistency level. On the street, you can be one way in public, and air out your dirty laundry in private. Is the way you act in private consistent with how you are in public? As for me, the peace of God I feel is so real. Will I be consistent a year from now, ten years from now? Will my testimony and convictions stand the test of time? Time will tell. The best is yet to come.