My neighbors are in prison. You see, I live 20 miles from four prisons — two federal prisons and two state prisons. So whenever I read Luke 10:27: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; love your neighbor as yourself, I recognize how complicated this can be.

Yes, it’s easy to love the neighbors we know and like. But my prison neighbors? Yet these prisoners are the very people who need to see God’s love and hear His Word. God tells us to love those who aren’t easy to love. Love your enemies (Luke 6:27). But how?

At the time, I was on a District LWML committee looking for an in-gathering idea. Prison ministry? I hadn’t considered that. Yet once I learned about The Storybook Project and became a volunteer, I learned to love my prison neighbors.

Three years later, I’m a full-time coordinator for The Storybook Project, a reading program designed to connect incarcerated parents with their children. I bring books, cassette tapes, and envelopes into prison with me. The inmate chooses a book and reads it out loud as a trained volunteer tapes the reading. Before mailing the book and tape to the child, the parent writes a short message of love in the book. Despite the fact that many incarcerated parents have lower reading skills than their children, many are eager to participate: “After I made the tape, I knew it was something special, but I could not have imagined how much hearing my voice read them a bedtime story could mean to my children. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.” A young boy brought his book and tape to school for “show and tell.” He was so proud to share this gift of love from his dad.

As the coordinator, I am blessed to see how reading books can connect many disconnected families. One favorite author for children and adults alike is Dr. Seuss. Do you remember The Foot Book? Well, my version could read:

• I have mission feet,
• Go into prison feet.
• I meet Red feet.
• I meet Brown feet,
• Black and White feet,
• Jailed and Down feet.
• His feet, her feet,
• Feet, feet, feet,
• What kind of feet do you meet?
  

Each time I walk into a prison, I meet jailed-anddown feet — I-miss-my-children’s feet — and I share God’s love with all of them. Inmates, who have few visitors, have already been accused, tried, and judged. What they need is to hear God’s love, not my judgment or attitude. I can bring Christ to the hearts of those “behind the wall.”

The Storybook Project has helped me to love those who are different from me. I am privileged and humbled to have my path cross theirs. One inmate thanked me for not judging her. Another inmate told me being in prison is a blessing to her. Pray for the families of the victims, inmates, and prison staff.

Remember those in prison as if you were in prison with them (Hebrews 13:3).