The process offered by Bridges To Life is a journey from anger and pain to peace and freedom, as a recent graduate shared in this letter:
Hello BTL,
____I have been in prison for 7 years on a 29-year sentence for the charge of murder. I'd been doing all kinds of wrong in here, wandering around with loads of guilt, self-hate, and shame, until God allowed something to happen in my life that opened the floodgates of what I was carrying.
____Where I grew up in the '80s and '90s, gang activity and violence touched everyone, and that was the norm of my life. So here I am in prison, when one day I was informed that my victim's brother was now on the unit. Naturally, my guard went up. When he saw me, he extended his hand, but I refused to shake it and we walked away from each other. This is when I felt God's conviction. "Why am I so mad?" I wondered. "He didn't do anything to me. I am the one who hurt HIS family." This thought drove me to go back to his housing wing and try again.
____First, I apologized for being stand-offish and he shook my hand. He then asked me what happened the night his brother was murdered - he wanted to know the TRUTH. So, I stood in front of him and confessed what I'd done to his brother. As the man before me listened, head bowed, he was not angry or aggressive, but hurt, torn, and heartbroken as he took in what I said. I told him, "There is nothing I can say or do to bring your brother back or change it. I just want to say I'm sorry and please forgive me for what I did."
____His head shot up to study my face. I had tears in my eyes. He came up to me and gave me a hug and said he forgives me, and his mother forgives me. Then he pulled out photo albums of his family and showed me pictures of his mother and brother, alive, smiling, enjoying life... and then pictures of his brother's burial site. All of this did something to me that I didn't understand at that time.
____I told this story to a friend who happened to be a graduate of Bridges To Life. He told me it sounded like a story that needed to be shared, so I signed up for the BTL program and what I learned amazed me! Now I understood what I'd experienced, just like the chapters in the book: Crime & Conflict, Faith, Stories, Responsibility, Accountability, Confession, Repentance, Forgiveness, Reconciliation, Restitution. It all changed my life.
____I no longer feel the burden of guilt, self-hate and shame. I feel free in prison, optimistic about my future, and living up to the promise I made to the man who showed forgiveness to me.
____Thank you for helping me understand.
