Depressing, But Blessed

I have been incarcerated since January of 2009, and Christmas is the single most depressing time of the year for me, and also one of the blessed days of my life.

Being sentenced to life without parole, I try to find a pen pal every chance I can, but am unsuccessful. God hasn’t given me a pen pal, but has given me the gift of the women’s group at my church, at Witcher Baptist Church of God. Every year, the congregation, the women’s group, the Pastor, and even people in my old community will send me Christmas cards, and some even send me money.

The women’s group (WMU) will send me a card, words of en­couragement, and prayers every month.

So, as you can guess, Christmas is depressing and sad for me, but also blessed and refreshing for me because of my Christian fam­ily at Witcher Baptist. God has kept us in each other’s lives and hearts since I’ve been in kindergarten.

Readers, I write to New Life all the time. They post my articles, poems, and have given me the platform to express my heartfelt love and appreciation for God’s continuous love and guidance through people in my life.

God is my Savior, the women of Witcher Baptist are my heroes, and Larry Rice and the New Life Evangelistic Center are gifts and blessings from the Lord. They make the connections, and we can continue to count on them.

---Jason Holstein, Mt. Olive, West Virginia