5 Things To Focus On -Part 2

When I self-surrendered at the camp, I began a regiment of walking the very next day. I didn’t waste time starting slow either. I dove right in with three miles every day. At the start, I walked a 6-minute lap or a 22-minute mile. For two months, I continued this routine. Occasionally, I took the day off from my walking schedule that I created due to call-outs or when the track was closed. My improved lap time is just under 5 minutes so far.

This month I improved my performance dramatically and began walking 6 miles per day over the first two weeks of the month, and I picked up the pace again on the third week of this month to 10 miles per day. I managed a couple of 12-mile days over the Juneteenth holiday. I am happy that I survived the self-imposed ordeal with only two blisters on my left foot, my big toe, and the second toe from the outside. With my toes smeared with antibacterial ointment and band-aids, I’ve kept my walking schedule, anyway.

The results speak for themselves: I’ve lost 38 pounds and am on target to lose another 30 pounds in the coming months. I’ve been losing about 10 pounds per month since I began this routine. I can feel the difference too. My sleep is better, albeit fitful because of the environment, my appetite is manageable, and aches and pain are diminished. What a wonderful response my body has provided. My primary objective is to come away from this experience in better physical condition. It should be a wonderful surprise for my lovely wife when I see her again. My health is improving.

My mental improvement has been remarkable too. I began reading anything that would contribute to my overall plan. I grabbed one of my favorites, “Mere Christianity,” by C.S. Lewis, and began writing book reports to mail home. My wife picked up her copy and started following along as I sent home my comments about the book. I picked up the next Lewis book, “The Great Divorce,” and began sending home more book reports. I repeated the literary discipline- as I finish one book, I begin another. The subject doesn’t matter to me as long as it adds to the achievement of my self-improvement plan for coming away from this experience a better man. My book list includes several fiction titles for when I need an escape from reality. The television provided by the BOP has horrible reception and isn’t worth the trouble. Although I detest my current environment and surroundings, I must say, being unplugged from the world is refreshing in many ways.

Finally, I am focused on financial peace. I paid my restitution before sentencing until the prosecutor changed it one week before the hearing. It’s disheartening how restitution leaks from every orifice of this bureaucratic organism. Reading the book by Sidney Powell, “License to Lie,” has been a real eye-opener in comparative studies, given my similar experience with the justice system. I am thankful I have peace of mind knowing my wife can take care of our family and financial obligations in my absence. It is true that an inmate’s family pays a heavy price; it’s not just the inmate that suffers, but his family endures incarceration as well.

One final thought I have to admit, the only way I would walk by faith and trust in the Lord under duress and being forced to surrender into custody did the trick, too. It has forced me to walk by faith because of my incarceration, and it is the only way God could have convinced a strong-willed man to surrender to His will and practice my faith. Can I be stubborn or what?