Chardo and I have been writing back and forth for some time now. In one of my letters I asked him if it were ok to share some things about him. He said it would be fine. He told me that his life after the age of thirteen "was full of bad choices". Through this he contracted Hepatitis C. He's been through the same treatment Dick has decided to go through and it looks as if he'll be going through it again before he leaves prison. Besides all the issues he faces now, he understands he will face many more, even after he leaves prison.
But what I am thankful for, is what he says about it all:
"I know I have a lot to go through, and the consequences of my past are not just going to disappear. But God will work it all out and good will come of it, and it has in one very important way, it's drawn me to Him"
This are not just religious talk coming from Chardo, this is the testimony of a person who has been renewed in his mind; one who truly believes God is worth everything it cost to come to this new life.
We've all experienced it in some measure; the wonderful mystery, how God can take a lost life, like the Father in the story of the prodigal son, God embraces us, he treats us just as if we had never strayed from his ways. He never holds against us that we mistreated his love. He just loves us like it never happened! Yes, like Chardo said, there are "consequences", but they are only related to this short term life; but praise be to God, from God's point of view, all is forgiven and forgotten (Jer.31.34) Now tell me, isn't that something to be thankful for? Peter
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Isn't it great that as long as there is life there is hope? I remember hearing somewhere that a mom is only as happy as her most unhappy child. So I am glad that your mother's heart is at peace with your son's situation. It is the greatest mystery of all: that love goes on and on and on.
Maybe the Beatles said it most concisely: "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make." Forgive me if I've misquoted that line--ahem...the Beatles WERE a little before my time after all.
Thank you for sharing your joy with everyone on here. It's truly something to be thankful for today!
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