Sometimes the Lord's choice for us doesn't appear sensible. It may seem foolish or require sacrifice. Others may judge us, withdraw from us and even become hostile towards us for obeying God's will for our lives. Trusting in God's perfect will and wisdom is necessary if we are to walk according to His plan for our lives in obedience. I was to realize later in my life the cost of obedience in God's call upon my life.

How well I remember my 8th grade Confirmation Class at Rosary Cathedral. Father Bernard Smith taught us well about God. One thing I will never forget is his teaching on prayer. Father taught us that we should always be careful what we pray for that God does answer our prayers. Also, that when we pray and ask God to use us we should again be very careful as God will definitely call us to His service. I used to laugh at that one as an eighth grader saying..."Oh, God would never send me as a Missionary to deepest, darkest, Africa, so why should I be afraid to pray that prayer?" I was never going off to Africa to share God's love with anyone!

Well, I did pray that prayer! And God did send me to the deepest, darkest, pits of someone's life... not in Africa... but at the Prison in Marion, Ohio. It all happened at a Monday Night Prayer meeting where a group of women Prayer Warriors met each week for Intercessory Prayers. We met in the home of my pastor's wife. There were eight of us who met and lifted up the name of Jesus, the Church united, the Body of Christ in our parish, and all the needs of our family, loved ones and friends. We studied God's Word and trusted in His promises and believed that God would answer our prayers. At the end of each prayer session we always prayed specifically for all the broken and hurting unsaved children of God. Those in hospitals, nursing homes, mental institutions and prisons. This particular Monday night one of the women said; "You know, we always pray for the hurting and broken and those who need Christ... why don't we just reach out and try to touch someone's life? We won't be able to minister to everyone, yet we can touch someone's life with the help of God!" So, we prayed again that God would use our prayer group in a powerful way to do just that. Again, I was reminded of Father Smith's prophetic words..."Be careful what you pray for!"

Was I surprised the next day when the phone rang at Redeemer Lutheran Church where I served as Parish Secretary? Oh no! Our God is a right now delivering God! Amen? He hears the cries and prayers of His children. The voice on the other end of the phone was a man calling from Lucas County Jail in downtown Toledo. He was asking for prayers and support from the Christian Community. He also asked if we could minister to his wife and children and invite them to church. Wow! We prayed and in one accord and God said: "Here is your answer, here is your Mission!" As a group we ministered to this man, sent him scriptures, and did what we could for his family. I remember it was around Easter time and we made up baskets for his children and provided canned goods for his wife. We did invite them to church services also.

The story unfolds as this man was then sentenced to Marion Correctional Institution in Marion, Ohio. We still continued to write to him as a prayer group. One of the prayer warriors was a Kindergarten teacher and she even had her children draw pictures of what a prison might look like to them. It was so humorous to see how they perceived someone to look like in a prison cell. They drew bars and what they thought he would look like in his cell. I'm sure our friend got a chuckle out of those drawings. Then one day our prayer group received a letter from this man asking us to write to someone he had observed there. He described this man as very angry, mean, would never talk to anyone without being hostile and they called this man, "The Hermit," because he stayed to himself. Even the guards stayed clear of him.

Well, we prayed about this too. Should we really take on writing another prisoner? With time being so very precious to us all and the women all had their own ministries in their churches... it was decided to pray and ask God for a designated letter writer to the "Hermit".

Well, guess who that designated writer was? Yes, it was me.

Oh, dear Lord, I thought, do I really want to get involved on a personal level with a prisoner?

It was very safe writing as a prayer group with all of us sharing the writing. Now, let alone writing to a "Hermit".

Still, I felt God's nudge and call to obedience and so I wrote. Every letter I wrote I began with this scripture... John 3:16-17 -
"For God so loved the world He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."
I even decorated the letters with stickers and always wrote in BIG BOLD PRINT - JESUS LOVES YOU! Well, needless to say my letters were not taken well. I was called a Jesus Freak, a Crazy Lady, and a few other choice words that I won't mention here. Yet, I continued to write this Hermit daily. Little did I know that the very day he received my first letter he was ready to die. He tried taking his own life but was unsuccessful. He was lying there in a fetal position on the floor of his cell when the guard delivered my letter and placed it on the ledge on top of the bars of his cell.

In bold print I had written, JESUS LOVES YOU! God's timing is incredible isn't it? I am so thankful I obeyed God's nudges even if the letter irritated and annoyed the Hermit it was to be the beginning of his changed life by the Grace of God.