A TENACIOUS LOVE | from page 21 ____________________________________________________________
All that changed one night. I was going
through a very tough time and was so tired
of life. I got down on my knees and cried out
in desperation to God, “God, if You are for
real, then bring it on. I am trusting You with
my life. You better not let me down! Amen.”
Some prayer, huh?
But because of that desperate plea,
because I had finally laid my life down,
something changed. In that moment, God’s
Spirit took up residence within me and
brought with Him everything that He is—
peace, joy, love, and hope. In that moment,
Jesus saved me from my sin and gave me a
new life. I was saved through my faith where,
before, I was trying to be saved through my
religious works. (See Ephesians 2:8–9.) And
since then, God has never let me down! I
grew so hungry for God, and that’s when
Scotty dropped out of the sky.
S: January seventh, 6:35 p.m., 2003, to be
exact.
J: He always says that!
S: When we met, we were both just two
broken vessels that God was restoring.
Jessica had so much to work through, but
so did I. For so long, I didn’t feel worthy of
love, especially not God’s love. And I would
step into relationships that fed this sense
of unworthiness. When my ex-wife would
punch me in the face, I accepted it because I
thought that was all I was worthy of.
This unworthiness led to an eating
disorder. I comforted my insecurities with
food, and I got bigger and bigger. Food
was my drug of choice. It all started in
my childhood. My dad was very abusive
physically, mentally, and emotionally. You
know, if you’re told you’re a dog long
enough, you’ll start to bark.
Through my relationship with Jesus Christ,
the Holy Spirit began to show me that I was
indeed worthy of good things. Ironically, He
used a mean woman who was searching for
God herself to lead me to His good plans.
J: It’s been quite a process for both of us. I was
not an overnight faith success story. God did
not immediately free me from my struggles. I
worked through habits and sinful personality
traits for years. But things changed when I
finally asked myself: “Do I want to please
Jessica, or do I want to please Jesus?”
Wanting to please Jesus is how I ultimately
ended up in a relationship with Scotty. I
watched as Scotty pursued me, jumping
over every roadblock I set up. One day I
was alone in my car, listening to Dr. James
Dobson on the radio. He asked the question:
“Wives, do you trust the Lord? Then you
need to trust the Lord with your loved ones
and with your choices.” Suddenly I realized
that I needed to trust the Lord with Scotty. I
needed to start letting down walls and letting
Scotty near me.
S: It wasn’t a day too soon! I had carried carrot
cakes to her parents, hung out with her
friends, and done everything I knew to do.
Her mom loved me; her brother said he’d
pay me to marry her; and her dad said he’d
give me some goats as a dowry! (Laughs)
But you know what Jessica said? She said I
needed to go to prison with her if she was
going to consider being in a relationship with
me. Prison?
J: I was heavily involved with prison ministry,
leading eight-week Bible studies in facilities
with inmates who had recently made
decisions to follow Christ. I was finishing
The transformed life of Jessica’s friend Carla led
Jessica to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
up such a study at Hernando Correctional
when the chaplain was suddenly deployed to
Iraq. I wondered, what is going to happen to
these girls? I felt God leading me to minister
on a regular basis to these women. So, with
Carla’s help in coming up with a name for my
ministry, Passion for Prison, I formed a notfor
profit organization. Ministering to inmates
was my life. Inmates were my peeps! If Scotty
was going to be a part of my life, then loving
inmates had to be a part of his.
S: I was a little hesitant. I hadn’t lived the
life Jessica had lived. I hadn’t even had a
speeding ticket! What would I have to offer
people in prison? I started to pray, and God
quickly showed me that prison isn’t walls
and wires. Prison is sin. And we all have sin.
Jesus Christ had freed me from my prison of
sin, and He wanted to free others too. God
showed me that what I had to offer inmates
was Him—freedom.
J: I took Scotty to Avon Park Correctional. He
was a natural. I looked across the prison
yard, and there was Scotty leading my
inmate friend’s bunkmate to the Lord! My
friend, who I’ve known since middle school,
(left) Scotty and Jessica with a dear member of their Passion for Prison ministry. (right) Scotty and Jessica, surrounded by their inmate family at Central Florida
Reception Center, at an event sponsored by Inmate Encounter. Thousands of inmates are a part of the Passion for Prison family.
kojministries.org Issue 4 2017 22 photography by Inmate Encounter
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