Family in prison and out

I come from a fairly functional family. Most of us do. But when we hear that word, do we all hear the same thing? Begin with the basic unit: mom, dad, sister brother. Many of us have never experienced that, but we are taught that it is ideal. The church talks of the Family of God, all of us being the younger siblings by adoption of Jesus, God's first-born. The biologist may think of the taxonomic family, which is next above genus. A sociologist may think of families of cultures, like the Pacific family, the linguist of a family of laguages. A geneticist may think of a group who share a certain hereditary closeness. There is the Family of Man, a concept that was talked about in the 60's. And there is the street family, not quite exactly the same term as "gang." In order to communicate, we have to be clear as to what we mean.

On the 4th, I went to a picnic for Cephas, which I joined a year ago. It felt like family. There were some I knew and admired, some I met for the first time. I liked some right away, but even the ones with whom I disagreed had a connection to me stronger than my disagreement. I felt close to them. We had mutual experience, mutual concerns and common goals. We did NOT have common views and opinions. But there was a positive, forward thinking atmosphere that I enjoyed. We shared a meal, played games, and talked. I came away from that picnic encouraged, warmed and happy.

When I leave the jails and prisons, I sometimes get a similar feeling. The people I meet and talk with want to change, want to take something away from our meeting that will help them find a way to their goals, to be better than they were when they went in. One inmate said, "My change came when I realized that I had been thinking that my life was "on hold" in prison, and that it would start up when I got out. What I realized was that my life continued no matter where I was; that if I didn't change, then I would go right back to the boozing and mayhem that got me here." That positive, forward thinking attitude is, I believe what gives me the feeling of family.