The Power to Share Life

Posted Apr 10, 09:35 AM by Kay Camenisch

I just returned from an Out4Life Conference in Atlanta, sponsored by Prison Fellowship. The goal of the gathering was to share information and build relationships between government agencies, ministries, and individuals that help inmates transition to life outside of prison. With coordinated support, the formerly incarcerated have a greater chance to stay out for life. Attendees included many former inmates who have returned to work in the system and others who are still in transition.

I went to promote my book, Uprooting Anger: Destroying the Monster Within. Individuals and church groups have used the book, but the people in the correctional system usually get most excited about it. They can’t ignore the destructiveness of anger. They know they need help.

I purposed to help people find freedom from the bondage of anger, hoping to provide a resource that gives hope and help. I trust I succeeded. However, I received from the conference too. I was touched by people I met and challenged by things I heard.

A man in transition came to my table, stuck his finger out, and tapped on a copy of Uprooting Anger. He said, “I need this book. I need it bad.” His courage to declare his need, and his eagerness to change impacted me. How often do we gloss over our needs or weaknesses—or even blame them on someone else? I believe that young man will find help because he isn’t too afraid or proud to admit his need.

I ate dinner at a table with a state chaplain and several women who were also in transition. The female chaplain had been at the Georgia facility for more than twenty years. The ladies called her “Chap”—and asked if they could eat her apple pie. Two of the women have jobs and seem to be doing well. Another was going to school and looking forward to the salary she’d get some day. If a stranger joined us, he wouldn’t have known those ladies were in “transition.” They were like the folks next door.

It’s heartening to meet people who’ve made good choices and are changing for the better, but it became more personal when Danny Wuerffel spoke. He’s a Heishman trophy winner and a former New Orleans Saints quarterback. Now, he does charity work in Atlanta. He shared about times in life when he faced overwhelming odds and how he overcame. He told about a difficult test he took and about a time when he was playing basketball and had to defend against a particularly imposing opponent.

After winning the Heishman trophy, Wuerffel was asked to write a book about what made him successful. As he considered what spurred him to success in difficult situations, he realized that when things seemed impossible, a voice rose from inside him saying, “You can do this. You’re so smart.” Or, “You’re so strong. Nobody can beat you. You’re tough.” He planned to write the book about how the inner voice of self-talk made him successful.

Then Wuerffel’s first son was born, and his mother came to visit. In the night Danny went to the kitchen to get a drink. As he walked down the hall, he heard noises. His mother was in the nursery, rocking the baby in her arms. She was saying, “You’re such a strong little boy. You’re tough. You can take on anybody.” When he returned, she was saying, “You’re such a smart little boy. You’ll be the top of your class.”

A third time, he walked down the hall. He still heard his mother, softly telling baby Jacob what a great guy he was, assuring him that he was number one. Danny fell to the floor and cried. He realized that the voices that made him successful were not his, but those of his mother, father, teachers, and coaches, voices of others who believed in him.

Proverbs 18:21 says, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Wuerffel experienced power through words of people around him. However, as he shared about the affirmative words in his life, he was talking to many people who had been destroyed by words spoken to them in childhood. Not everybody grows up surrounded by voices that believe in them.

The ladies at the table with me were probably aching, wishing they’d heard life-giving words when they were children. But, it isn’t too late. In the short time I was with them, “Chap” spoke words of affirmation to them and about them. Power in today’s words can bring healing to the hurts of yesterday.

We all need to hear voices that believe in us. Voices that carry the power of life—power for encouragement, hope, and change. Power that leads to right choices and to transition from bondage to freedom.

In like manner, we all have voices. Thus, we wield power. Though we’re often not aware of the power that our tongues hold, we can be instruments of good, of change, of life. Sometimes it requires looking beyond the obvious, but we still have power in our tongues.