He speaks with pride about the progress he’s making with his job. He talks about saving money for clothes. He’s trying to get insurance for his medical needs. He might work on his driver’s license. All pretty basic stuff for the average person.
But for a man in his fifties who spent much of his life in the prison and drug sub-culture these are big deals. He’s an alien navigating a new life with strange values like honesty, sobriety, and caring about others.
He says he sometimes walks an emotional tightrope. He has to remind himself he’s living in a new world. When frustrated, he resists the urge to return to the old life where he knows the rules. Where life, even though harsh, is simpler for him.
I encourage him to be patient, to take what TLC has to offer. To enjoy what’s left of his life.
And to let the Promises unfold for him as they have for so many of us.
