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"WORDS FROM A MOTHER’S HEART"
Have you ever considered the emotional pain that is associated with a loved one’s incarceration? Each time someone is arrested for a crime, it is important to remember that the person taken into custody is someone’s son or daughter. Try to imagine the emotion turmoil and heart-wrenching pain of one of your own children being arrested and incarcerated.
We may be able to live comfortably with arrest and incarceration statistics that we learn about in the news—arrests and confinements of people far removed from our private world. However, our lives are turned upside-down, and we are unexpectedly thrown from our "comfort zones" when the person arrested and incarcerated is a member of our own family! And almost without exception, the person most grieved and distraught over the arrest is the inmate’s mother.
The same mother, who delighted in the birth of a young son or daughter, is now the one burdened with a broken heart over that same child’s arrest and incarceration. That innocent child, which she held in the warmth and security of her arms, is now being held in a lonely jail/prison cell—out of touch, but not out of mind. The child, who once sat on her lap, is now sitting alone in a correctional facility—far removed from his/her mother’s knee.
The mother’s pain is further intensified by the haunting question, "Where did I go wrong?" Sleepless nights become the norm, and every waking moment is focused upon what she might have done to prevent the events leading up to her child’s arrest and incarceration.
Just imagine the unexpected call, in the wee hours of the morning, that shares the news, "Mom, I’ve been arrested." Contemplate your son or daughter’s plea for you to find a good lawyer. Meditate upon the anxiety of sitting in a courtroom where your son or daughter is on trail. Try to image a moment frozen in time as your child’s guilty verdict is read. Place yourself in a courtroom where the judge pronounces your child’s sentence, and you watch correctional officers lead your son/daughter out of your sight and into a world that will include concrete walls, iron bars, and rows of razor-wire.
One can only imagine the number of prayers this mother will say on behalf of her child—prayers for the child’s safety and prayers of hope, healing, and forgiveness. And, of course, the mother will pray that her child will turn his/her back on sin and cultivate a meaningful and saving relationship with Jesus.
Every day, the Lord answers the prayers of mothers, around the nation, through the ministry of A.R.M. Prison Outreach and the American Bible Academy. The Bible correspondence courses of the American Bible Academy are designed as an evangelistic tool that will encourage inmates to study the Bible and lead them to Jesus, a training tool that will help them truly learn and apply the Bible’s message, and as an equipping tool that will give them the confidence and knowledge to share the Good News with others.
When these goals are accomplished, the angels in heaven are not the only ones rejoicing.
A mother, who has been praying specifically for her child, will be rejoicing as well.
Consider these words from a rejoicing mother’s heart: "Dear A.R.M., My son is in prison, and he has been involved with the Bible studies you are sending him. It is such a blessing to read his words in letters, saying, ‘Mama, my Bible studies are fun, and it is really good learning about The Word, and I’m really learning.’ Thank you from my heart. Thank you for being there for my son. He is 29 and a man, but he is my youngest son…. I’M SURE THAT THERE ARE MANY CROWNS AWAITING YOU IN HEAVEN. GOD BLESS."
I thank you, the faithful supporters of A.R.M. Prison Outreach International and the American Bible Academy, for being there for our ministry. I thank you for the financial sacrifices that you make each month so Bible courses can be placed in the hands of an inmate who is seeking The Savior. I thank you for your partnership with this ministry that makes the transformation of an inmate’s heart and mind a reality. I thank you for the confidence that you have in our staff’s ability to effectively share the love and message of Jesus with sons and daughters who are incarcerated around the county.
And guess what, THEIR MOTHER’S THANK YOU TOO—FROM THE BOTTOM OF THEIR HEARTS!
In His Service,
Joe Welch, Director
American Bible Academy
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