Healing

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Prisons

A number of the kids I worked with at an emotional-support school had been in juvenile prison because of crimes they had committed. Even those who hadn't broken any criminal laws (or hadn't been caught), their behavior was such that they were removed from the normal society of the public or private school population. No two children were alike, some where from abusive environments, some were never taught right from wrong, some were damaged before they even came into this world through the mother's drug and/or alcohol use while she was pregnant. Yet in all cases, they were damaged... wounded in their minds, hearts and spirits. Through the discipline of cause and effect...consequences...they could often learn to control their behavior. Within the relatively safe environment of the school, many did fine. Yet as soon as they left the school, many were right back where they started because they were still wounded. A few kids were so wounded and had no safe world to go to, that they ended up being killed or by some manner committed suicide. In these cases I just felt the angels took them home. Maybe it was my own rationalization, but it helped me accept it.

We can't put a chronological age at which point a person automatically becomes 'unwounded'. Walking out of a prison does not mean that person has been healed. In fact, that's often the point they're most vulnerable. In some cases the system causes the damage, as in the case of a person being falsely charged and convicted of a crime. However, they're still not going to be free by being released from prison, since until they are healed in their minds, hearts, and spirits they won't be free. I know a tiny bit how this feels. When I was in college there was an incident in my dorm...rather silly really...and I was awakened at 1 a.m. for questioning, and blamed for being part of it. It's an awful feeling, and I have tremendous compassion for people who are legally charged and convicted of some very serious crime. The struggle of living with something like that is beyond my comprehension. People have been on death row, even executed, for crimes they never committed. Yet many have been able to find peace and freedom in their hearts in spite of it. In my situation at college, my Dad had to come to the school and intervene on my behalf. Because he was an educator with "Doctor of Education" attached to his name, the school officials gave him a respect they weren't giving me. In another case, a boy was also falsely charged about an incident and in that case his Dad had lawyers all over the school, which did have the effect of the school changing their policy on how they handled things.
For healing to occur, a person needs not only to be freed...removed from the harm...but to then be in a safe, supportive environment to heal within. Correcting externals wrongs is one step to creating a safe environment. But if a person hasn't healed within on all levels, their wounds will eventually cause them to create a new harm within that environment. History proves you can free a society, but eventually the people will create new harms within that society. It's as though what we need to be free from is our natural tendencies. And once free from that what is our rock of reality? By what touchstone do we know if we are really in the truth or have we just created another Illusion of freedom and safety?

Psalm 18:31
For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?

Psalm 30:2
O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me.

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