Free From – Chapter 25 – July 25th

I hope you will join me this month as we JOURNEY each day through our short story. It is about finding FREEDOM in the midst of all the captivating pieces in life that steal our peace which we need FREE FROM!

FREE FROM
July 25th, 2021

Hebrews 13:2, ‘Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing, some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.’ (NIV)

Chapter 25

“Why you here?” Legend demanded. The little black man, as wide as he was tall, grinning the most brilliant smile Legend had ever witnessed, had fastened himself to the inside of the cell like a fixture. It hadn’t taken long to realize around here, yo pad was yo pad and no-buddy but no-buddy belonged in it if you said ‘Go’. That same rule didn’t apply today it seemed.
Legend’s guest had a name badge on his prison suit which was so faded you couldn’t read the name or number, and the knees bore holes that swollen, overweight skin peeked through. He bore a slipper on one foot, but the other was wrapped in a stretch bandage; he limped as if it pained him. His hands shook when he spoke with them which is mainly how he communicated. Maybe he was a ventriloquist in his past life.
“What can I do for you?” Legend asked, trying to be polite but feeling a bit frustrated. “And you said your name was…?” the question mark dangling like theory of a hangman.
The man began to cough, and in his sputtering, he choked, and seriously, Legend considered if he recalled his CPR moves. Just as he maneuvered toward him to help, his gasping and gagging quieted and his lips ceased quivering. “You okay, man? I mean, I thought I was going to have to perform some CPR, but I didn’t want to invade your space.” Legend had learned quickly: you didn’t touch someone in these parts of the world nor get in their bubble unless beckoned. “Now, what is it that I can do for you?” He was regretting answering his…well, bars.
“No, son, it’s what I can do for you.” Again, the coughing and sputtering began. It took a bit for him to catch his breath but now he had Legend’s attention. Ha! no one had nothing for him here. “I’ve been watching you,” eventually the character whispered.
“You’ve been watching me?” Legend was befuddled. A chill ran the length of his back. He usually knew his surroundings, including eyes on his corner.
For the next hour, the fellow recounted details about Legend’s life which no one knew, likely not even Annie. Things he’d never shared with another person, whether because of shame or guilt or maybe even a hurt so immense there weren’t words to wrap around the memory. They were the damages, the scars and wounds, the intense wreckage and hidden brokenness of his very soul. The man’s voice carried such a level of comfort and depth of care, it withdrew something from down inside Legend that he had compacted and buried a multitude of years in the past, long ago cast out and rejected and ignored. When he recounted the visions he saw of Legend’s life, it was with finality and knowledge not assumption. Legend slid to the floor as if he had just been exposed, vulnerable and raw. He couldn’t breathe and the tears began to course as if an outdoor hose had been turned on full force on a dying lawn.
The silence in the cell resonated from the brick blocks, the dripping of the faucet and quiet weeping an echo. “I don’t even know what to do with this,” Legend quietly admitted. “Why are you here to tell me about myself?”
The man did not hesitate, his grin swallowed his face. “He sees you. He wanted me to tell you He sees you. He knows you. He loves you anyway. He wanted me to tell you He promises He will restore all the years life has eaten. He said, ‘You tell him: don’t give up; stay strong; come home. When you’re ready, come home; and, it will all be restored to you.’ He said He will use you to set others free who are imprisoned, but he said I must tell you to trust Him, to be obedient and to let go. And to then sit back and watch what He is going to do.” His smile couldn’t get any wider nor his eyes any brighter. “Now, I must go. I have work to do.” The dude was moving toward the bars with precision and speed, any trace of a limp long forgotten.
“Wait!” Legend cried. “Who should I say sent you when I tell of this encounter, and who are You, really?”
“My Father sent me to tell you these truths and that He loves you. Just tell them Jesus stopped by.” Legend climbed to his feet, dumbfounded. He went to hold out his hand, but the man was already gone, not even to be seen down the lengthy corridor. Legend felt as if he had just been dazed and was awakening from a long sleep. He wondered if he had dreamt it, but moments later when his cellie returned, he was more confused and confounded than ever.
His cellie stated he’d stayed away because the ‘s**t y’all was talkin’ ‘bout was way too deep for me, man. Who was that dude?’ he demanded to know. “That was f****d up, man,” his cellie added. “I was trippin’ cuz you was trippin’. Who was he? I never seed him before.”
Goose flesh covered Legend’s entire being, inside and out. He couldn’t spit the words out. “You don’t want to know.” They’d send him to the DT ward as if he was smoking something if he said Jesus just stopped by to visit.
Nights later, Legend was still rattled. There wasn’t an inmate that matched that fellow’s description according to everyone he asked, and no matter what meal in the chow hall or anyplace in the facility where Legend went, he never again saw the little 4×4 black man with the whitest smile and gleam in his eyes he had ever seen.

To Be Continued…