2012 Spring Newsletter.pub - Kairos

KAIROS WOMEN’S MINISTRY
Maimie’s Story about Kairos Outside
“When you have someone you
love incarcerated, the relationship
you had with them is gone,
it will never be the same.”
Until you have walked in someone
else’s shoes you can’t know what
they are going through. I was in a
place so dark and empty that I
thought I would not survive. A
place where I thought everyone
thought I was worthless, including
myself. I stayed in a depression for
almost 3 years. I did not want to
go anywhere, I did not care if I
lived or died. Shame and guilt took
over my whole life.
If you have never been through
that kind of depression then you
have been truly blessed. If you
have or you are now going through
that kind of depression, I pray that
this will bring you hope.
I have 2 sons in the prison system,
I kept that secret for a very long
time. I took all the shame and guilt
of that on myself, even though I
know that they made the choice to
do the things they did. However,
that really did not matter. I am doing
the time right along with them.
I was their Mom. Why couldn’t I
have done something to save them
from themselves?
My husband made it possible for
me to go on a Kairos Outside
Weekend #13 almost 10 years ago
and it changed my life in many
ways. I realized that I was not the
only Mom out there that had loved
ones in prison. I listened to some
of the women on that Weekend,
who cared enough to open their
hearts to us, and tell us about their
journey, and how having a loved
one incarcerated impacted
their lives.
They made it possible
for me to open my
heart to take it all in. I
know that God was
speaking to me
throughout the Weekend
through those
women.
On that Weekend God
spoke to me in the
way He knew I would
pay attention. I was
amazed at all the love
that I felt throughout
that Weekend. The
Chapel was where I
felt God’s love for
me. I was overwhelmed
when I saw my sons pictures
on the altar and I heard God
tell me they were grown men,
“they” made the choices they
made, not me.
In that Chapel I realized that no
matter how hard we try to change
someone, they still will make their
own choices, good or bad. I felt
God’s love throughout the rest of
the Weekend and I will never forget
all the love that came from
those women, whom I now call
“family”. I believe they saved my
life. I know that when I came into
to my Weekend, I was lost and did
not care anymore about anything,
I had no hope, but now I have
been changed from the inside out.
I know I will never see my boys
outside those prison walls, but I do
know that God has His hands on
them and they are not alone. I now
have hope.
Pictured above is the author of
this article, Mamie, with her
husband.
I no longer feel alone in this
world. I no longer
feel unloved by
God. I now, have
an unfailing faith
and I know that if
I ever need them,
my sister’s in the
Kairos Outside
Community will
be there. I am
still, after almost
10 years, active
with some of the
same sister’s that
worked the team
on my KO Weekend
and many
more women I
have met since
then.
I know now that we are all here
to serve each other with love and
understanding and forgiveness.
Forgiveness comes as long as we
ask for it. God loves us unconditionally,
we are not alone. My
prayer is that if you have a loved
one out there that has never gone
on a Kairos Outside Weekend,
you will send them the brochure
and ask them to go.
I believe they will be blessed beyond
measure. I have worked
many teams since my Weekend
and I know that this is the purpose
that God has for me to do.
Everything good happens in
God’s Special Time … Kairos
Time.
Mother Teresa once said “I am
but a pencil in God’s eyes and it
is He who continues to write my
story…….”
Spring 2012, God’s Special Time/Page 7