Each woman who attends the prison ministry weekend I’m volunteering at will receive a hand-written letter from each volunteer. I wrote a letter this morning but found myself with a need to write another one this afternoon. Letter #3.
Dear _____,
They say, “When it rains, it pours.” That’s what my life feels like for a while. How about you?
Life is full of pressure. Sometimes it feels unbearable. Actually, it is unbearable. When the heat is turned up, it changes us.
I’ve heard the old example: Will you be the egg or coffee in the boiling water of life? Meaning, will life’s pressure make you hard, or will it bring out a good smell and well-loved drink?
I don’t think it’s bad to be the “egg” though. So what if we harden a bit with life? It may help us survive.
I used to be afraid of becoming too hard emotionally. I guarded against it and tried to stay kind-hearted. I guess that’s a good thing, but my kind-heart keeps getting run-over and it hurts.
How can we find that balance of protecting ourselves and still being a compassionate person who has a soul? There has to be a way. I think it must be impossible in our own strength.
But the Bible says where we are weak, Jesus is strong. We have to run to Him. We have to hide in Him. To allow Him to be our protector and our compassion.
I’ve not conquered the challenge, so let’s pray for each other to be willing to trust God enough each day to let Him be in charge of our hearts.
In Jesus’ Name,
Rachael Hartman
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Matthew 19:26
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I’m raising $150 to pay for one female inmate to attend the Kiaros prison ministry I’m volunteering at. It may not seem like a lot of money, and you may think I should just pay it myself, but I can’t pass up this opportunity to share the blessing of having you join with me in prayer and support for this weekend. As well, if you understood the time, energy, and travel commitments of each of us volunteers, you would understand why I’m asking for help in raising the financial piece.
If you would like to donate to the prison ministry, it needs to be in the form of a check made out to: KPMI (which stands for Kairos Prison Ministry International). In the memo put: Pulaski, GA. You can mail it to me, Rachael Hartman, at: PO Box 501, Bloomingdale, GA 31302. If you want a tax credit, include your full name and address on a note and they will mail you a tax receipt.
Thank you so much for your support and prayers! Every $5 goes to pay for a meal for one of the inmates that weekend. The meal will have a tag with your name on it. And we will have a paper chain link that will also have your names on a link to show that you have prayed for and invested into the weekend. Praise God for what He will do! Please keep me in your prayers as I will be speaking on Obstacles to Accepting God’s Grace, and sharing part of my own testimony in the process.
To add your name to the prayer chain (which will be visualized with a paper link chain – your name will be on one link) please leave a comment below. And please pray for Kairos #40 ~ Pulaski Women’s State Prison in Georgia. Kairos weekend happening August 25-28, 2016.
Rachael Kathleen Hartman 