Spiritual Survival Guide
6: Keeping It Going: Moving Beyond Survival Mode
“Never quite enough.” It can be truly frustrating to always be having to “make do.” Jesus invites us to follow him and live an “abundant” life, but there never seems to be quite enough abundance of the good things in prison. It’s like the frustration of not having enough food or drink to ever fill you up properly. You walk away from a meal having been fed but not truly satisfied. You’ve had a drink, but you still feel thirsty. What’s true of food and drink also seems to hold for lots of guys when it comes to relationships and outside support. Letters and visits from loved ones sometimes only make us miss them more. We take part in a program in the prison, but it seems to be over in no time. We make some deep spiritual friends, but the institution periodically yanks them away for no apparent reason. Here’s what our guys mentioned …
Think About It. Talk About It.
1. How big a challenge is it for you to be alone with your thoughts? Does it feel good to stop and really think for a change, or does it drive you crazy?
2. How do you deal with your loneliness?
a) I distract myself b) I try to stay busy c) I seek out other people, even if I know they’re bad for me d) I take those feelings to God in prayer e) other
3. Do you find it helpful to think of three varieties of unreliable Christians (false, weak, and immature)? Does that help to explain some of the guys you’ve met? How about you? Do you get frustrated with your own unreliability? 4. How do you usually handle the frustration of “never quite enough”? What, if anything, could you begin to do differently to ease those frustrations?
136
137
Made with FlippingBook - Share PDF online