I got to see my husband this morning.

Relief!

The visiting area was so nice. I got to choose my own table to sit at. I could even choose which side of the table to sit on. That hasn’t been the norm.

Usually, we get assigned a table and I have to sit on a certain side.

When my husband came out, we hugged.

I sobbed.

There is just no explaining what this being apart does to us.

Even when we pretend we’re holding it together. Even when it looks like I’m handling things alright. Even when I don’t cry all the time.

It hurts.

Most of the time it feels like coming down with the flu. That’s the best way to explain it. There is a literal ache and weakness due to this separation.

It felt so good to have his arms around me. His hands holding mine.

This facility even has games to play. We discovered that too close to the end of our visit though.

We asked the lady next to us, if my husband was allowed to go over there. She said yep.

The inmates can actually move and walk around. Always before, he wasn’t allowed to move without permission.

We walked across the room holding hands! That is something we haven’t been able to do for over a year. He got some paper and pencils to show me something.

At the end of the visit, we both got weepy again. It’s such a relief to have him close enough that I can just “zip across town” to see him. It’s hard to leave him though.

I didn’t have to walk past any razor wire today either! That was a nice change.

He said that the chaplain’s office has an all day marriage seminar. I told him to sign us up.

He also told me some neat things.

1. When inmates are transferred, they usually go to the sorting facility and stay there a few days. That’s where he was last summer when I wrote about razor wire. It’s actually a pretty primitive place. He said he was in line with another inmate going to the same facility Lee was moving to. They were both grouching about having to go to the sorting facility.

The officer asked Lee his name. Then said, “Put your stuff over there. They’re bringing a van for you.”

So this facility drove down to get Lee and take him straight back bypassing the sorting facility. The other guy got on a bus to go to the sorting facility.

Getting to skip that place was a big blessing to my husband. The guys in his pod said that’s not normal. They all had to go to the sorting facility too.

It does sound like God pulled that one off. Doesn’t it seem strange that 2 guys were going to the same facility and only my husband gets to skip the sorting facility?

2. He explained that of course he was shackled on the 3 1/2 hour trip up. His feet are chained together then to his hands which are chained to a box. This gives very limited uncomfortable movement. He and I of course understand this is necessary.

He said though that every time he moved he felt how shackled he was. He said each time God spoke to him and said, “That’s just like sin. Look what sin does to you. It messes up everything.”

I like that God is speaking to him in things that occur in his everyday life.

3. Instead of cells, this prison has pods with 50 guys in it with bunks. Lee doesn’t really like that. It’s noisier and harder to sleep or get away from people. He said “Don’t you think this is weird? They bunked me in a corner where all the guys are Christians or at least studying the Bible.”

I thought how good God is to put Lee next to people that won’t antagonize him for his faith.

I’m going to try to work out a specific day of the week that I will always go. That will be easiest. I skipped Sunday School this morning but I don’t want to do that very often.

I’m so glad that he’s here. I also feel the pull already on my already limited time. If you think to pray for me, pray that I will be able to balance it all. I need to make my marriage a priority. Now that he’s here, there is no reason to not visit him often.

Filed under: Family, Prison/Incarceration | 13 Thoughts Shared »