incarcerated

Today we drove down to Brownwood to visit Princess, Agent Wife’s young friend who originally was a match-up by a local mentor organization. Princess is now 16. She has been incarcerated for over a year now. She was in a local facility until a court hearing put her in the Texas youth version of Leavenworth, located in nearby Brownwood.

(And BTW - the mentor organization no longer recognizes the match. I guess when your kid ends up in prison then you’re no longer a success story for the next campaign brochure.)

Thankfully for us, Brownwood is only about an hour away. Most visitors have to drive hours to get there. I met a young couple that drove all the way from Lufkin (in East Texas).

I’ve never spent time in Brownwood before. Back in the old “izzy” ministry days, Brownwood was legendary with street folks as being the biggest drug trafficking town in West Texas. I think there are more shanty-ville meth labs on the outskirts of that town then there are churches in the fair mother city.

Truthfully, I’m just amazed with Agent Wife. She teaches me about loving people who don’t love you back more than any other source.

I mean, surely Princess loves us. But it’s hard for me to tell. She appeared blatantly unenthusiastic to see us when she was escorted to our waiting area. But such is teenage life I suppose. She’s always been like that, even when she was seven. Maybe I’m just a whiner.

Princess exposes my heart a lot. Driving a mere hour out of town is a sacrifice for us. Not only time, but gas for the car is a resource we use sparingly.

Jesus said something once about how easy it is to love those who love us back. Therefore, love those who hate you. CEO – help me.

I hope to be pursued and loved the way Agent Wife loves Princess.