Download PDF - Adventist Review
Download PDF - Adventist Review
Download PDF - Adventist Review
- No tags were found...
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Journeys With Jesus<br />
True Freedom<br />
I ASCENDED THE CONCRETE STEPS OF THE OLD BRICK BUILDING AND WAITED<br />
for the gruff female guard to wave me through the metal detector.<br />
“Come on,” she barked.<br />
I smiled my thanks, but she remained impassive. I waited, uncertain where to go.She had already turned<br />
back to her book.<br />
Summoning my courage, I approached her. “Excuse me, ma’am. Where is family court?”<br />
Her eyes flickered over my face, and then returned to her book. “Third floor.”<br />
The elevator creaked on its journey up. As I stepped out and began walking down the corridor, my heels<br />
clicked on the old linoleum. Almost every chair in the long hallway was filled. A baby cried as her mother<br />
held her. Another woman rocked in unspoken anguish. Most were dressed in faded jeans. Old sweatshirts<br />
covered too-thin bodies. The stale air felt tense. Armed police officers stood guard. Important-looking men<br />
in business suits hurried past.<br />
I glanced about. Then the elevator door opened, and my friend Sam* stepped out.<br />
“Oh, Jill, thanks so much for coming!” Her voice choked as she gave me a hug. “Let me introduce you to<br />
my family.”<br />
I shook hands with her family members and made small talk. Underneath our light exterior was<br />
the unspoken question: Would Sam get her children back today?<br />
I’d known Sam for only a few short months. The first time I’d met her she was wearing a navyblue<br />
jumpsuit and orange crocs, courtesy of our local jail. Several of the women from our<br />
church visit the jail every Monday night to share the Word of God with our sisters there. Sam<br />
had regularly come to our meetings, reaching out for a new way of life. After her release she<br />
began attending our church. She’d been working toward recovery. Reaching out to Jesus.<br />
Fighting to get her children back. I’d promised to attend court with her today. I couldn’t do<br />
anything except sit beside her and pray.<br />
The sound of chains coming down the hallway startled me. A young man in street clothes<br />
was led by two officers. Head down. Shackled hands. Eyes red from crying. He didn’t look<br />
more than 16. The officers led him into a side room to await his time with the judge. A commotion<br />
occurred opposite him. Two women exited the judge’s chambers. The younger one<br />
cried so hard that she swayed and would have fallen, except the other woman caught her.<br />
She’d been denied custody of her children. They passed by me on their way out. Years of drug use<br />
had etched their mark on their faces.<br />
The chains dragged by me again, this time into the courtroom. Time seemed to stand still. The air grew<br />
stifling hot. I shifted my weight from foot to foot, prayed with my friend Sam, and paced the hall.<br />
An hour passed. The young man came out, harried parents at his side. They had a brief consultation with<br />
his lawyer in the corner. I spoke with his girlfriend while they talked. She was so beautiful yet so heartbreakingly<br />
young. So much promise. So many choices made. So much suffering now.<br />
The officers took the young man away to jail. His girlfriend reached out, tears streaming down her cheeks,<br />
but she wasn’t allowed to touch him. Turning, she stumbled after his parents.<br />
Where is the “glory” of sin now? It was gone. It had simply vanished. Here, there was only the stark reality<br />
of Satan’s world. The end result of the beautiful allure of sin: death.<br />
As I walked down the courthouse steps I thought of our precious Savior and how He had borne our death<br />
so that we could go free. Free from our guilt and shame. Free from the reality of Satan’s world. Free from<br />
our bondage to sin.<br />
Dear Father, I breathed, teach us how to be Your witnesses, how to share the true freedom found in Jesus. n<br />
Jill<br />
Morikone<br />
* not her real name<br />
JILL MORIKONE IS A MUSIC TEACHER, A CHURCH PIANIST, AND A HOST ON THE 3ABN TODAY COOKING SEGMENTS. SHE AND HER HUSBAND,<br />
GREG, LIVE IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AND ENJOY MINISTERING TOGETHER FOR JESUS.<br />
www.<strong>Adventist</strong><strong>Review</strong>.org | June 20, 2013 | (551) 23