Day One

Driving home from work that night, I was incredibly angry with God. Life was so unfair. I was called - expected - to live life in a particular way - a way I was not capable of. I was doomed to go to hell. Instead of listening to The Bible Answer Man, the radio program I always turned on during my drive home from work, I opted to listen to NPR. It was my way of rebelling against a very unfair God. No longer would I listen to His word. No longer would I try to live the impossible life He called me to live. Screw it! If I was going to go to hell, I'd start living life on my terms and in my own way. Little did I know at the time that my anger at God, my spur of the moment decision to change the radio dial, would forever change my life. The piece being aired on NPR at that exact moment in time was about Pelican Bay State Prison. I had never heard of Pelican Bay State Prison. According to the journalist covering the story, it was a prison in Northern California that housed the "worst of the worst". As I listened to the reporter describe the inhumane conditions these prisoners were forced to live with, my curiosity grew. Who were these men? What had these men done to earn their way into such a nightmarish hell hole? Why were they forced to live in cement tombs 23 hours a day with no human contact? How was that even possible? Weren't all humans designed to be touched? Didn't we all need some sort of contact with other people in order to survive? How was it possible to live in such total isolation without losing touch with reality and going completely mad? I had to know more. Upon arriving home that evening, I immediately logged on to my computer so that I could Google search Pelican Bay State Prison. I didn't find a wealth of information, but I did find some. Nestled in the beautiful redwoods of Crescent City, California, the prison was home to more than 4000 inmates many of whom lived in complete isolation in these shoebox sized tombs called the Security Housing Unit or SHU for short. Among the websites giving statistical information about the prison, I also found a pen pal website that was full of ads from prisoners seeking everything from legal help to friendship to romance and more. As I read, the ads began to blend together. They were all so similar. And then it happened. I found his. It was different. He was different. He was looking for someone to read with, to study philosophy with, to embrace life with. His ad made him sound more like a university professor then some low life common criminal. Whatever had he done to earn his way to Pelican Bay. . the worst of the worst? My curiosity was peaked. I just had to know. And so I did the only thing I could. I wrote him a letter. That was the beginning. The road to the rest of my life. What I didn't know at the time was just how awesome and unexpected God's miracles could really be. What I didn't know then was that my decision that night to change the radio station would lead me to my soul mate. God has a plan for each of us. Just when I thought I couldn't go on, didn't want to go on, He revealed His plan for my life. He led me right to Michael. And that's where my journey really began. It's an incredible story, full of ups and downs. But mostly it's a story about hope and the ultimate gift one human can receive. . . Love.