Dismas in Action

Marty has abused alcohol for his whole adult life.  It has abused him too.   His relationship with it started when he was a young teen but he managed to patch together a career as a mechanic and truck driver.  Eventually his drinking caught up with him and a series of bad decisions resulted in the loss of his driver’s license, large fines and then jail time, a number of times.  He lost everything he had worked for: his family, a home, his business and all his retirement savings.  Marty is a trusting soul but those he trusted bilked him of all his assets and have now pretty much abandoned him.  In his 60’s now, he feels like a failure; betrayed and foolish.  I got to know him after his most recent release from jail, when he called me and asked for support in finding somewhere to live.  He was in a homeless shelter but proud of the fact that he had completed a few months of sobriety while incarcerated.   A year later he is still sober a year and, thanks be to God, in his own apartment.  He has a lot to feel good about.  When he lives in the present and focuses on what he has now he is fun to be around. Marty started attending a church and knows that God can give him the strength to go on. 

But Marty struggles with depression. His life-long relationship with alcohol has left him full of regrets and the feeling of loss plagues him.  It takes away his joy.  Sometimes he wonders why he even bothers trying and thinks about giving up.  At one of our recent Dismas Fellowship meetings, Marty was very much in that dark place.

In addition to joining a local church, he also joined the local Dismas group and his honesty and sense of humour make him an important part of our community.   A Dismas fellowship is a Christ-centred support group for ex-prisoners.  At every Dismas get-together we always take time to talk about life and God’s place in it. It usually starts with a reflection; prepared by one of the group to share with the rest.  Every reflection ends with a question that is meant to stimulate thought and allow people to either share how the theme relates to them or, if they don’t feel comfortable sharing, to pass.  The reflection question that night had centred on what God was doing and wants to do in our lives.  Marty was in a negative space when he arrived and when it was his turn to talk, he shared about his current struggles; his anger towards God and how he feels everything and everyone has turned against him.  He expressed confusion about God’s silence in unanswered prayers. He was saying that he wonders if God really loves him and is believing that everyone would be better off if he was dead.  Marty’s mind was firmly anchored in the past and was being flooded by regret and guilt, a place it usually camps out when he takes his eyes off Jesus and all the good that is in his life. That is why it is so important that he surround himself with a loving supportive community.  That night the Dismas community responded and gathered around him to pray with him and reassure him. That night, and since then, the group became the hands and feet of a loving God for Marty. The future is uncertain for him because of some big challenges ahead but the good thing is he won’t face it alone- after all; he belongs to a  Dismas Fellowship!

Pray for Marty.  Pray that he live in the moment and learn to forgive himself and others who have hurt him in the past.  Pray too for the Dismas groups in London and Cambridge and the volunteers that have pitched in to help.  Pray that God will use the groups to encourage and build up ex-prisoners as they seek to know and serve Him. Thanks for taking the time to read this and to pray.