5 Things To Focus On -Part 1

Five things that primarily occupy my focus while spending time at the Florence Camp: spiritual growth, marital happiness, improved health, mental discipline, and financial peace. It was a toss-up between spiritual growth and my marital happiness, but as expected, God won the coin toss. My marriage is supremely important to me, but the good Lord must always be the priority in our household. I am confident my lovely wife would chastise me if I placed anything above our worship. It is said, “As for me and my household, we will worship the Lord.” It is the only thing that truly matters in this life, and prison makes no difference.

I’ve found a core group of men who work towards the same goals as me. We all pursue a closer walk with God, and, to a man, we all desire to know God and His plan for our lives. I am keenly aware this is not an original idea I thought of behind bars. Many others have come before and wondered the same question, desired the same experience with their Maker, and worked towards spiritual maturity of faith that would rival the original twelve. I will accept the challenge no matter where God’s path may lead. In this way, my experience is wholly unique to me. It is mine alone, and all those who came before have not experienced the adventure that God has laid out before me. I only wish the good Lord would let me in on the secret!

Next, on my list of self-improvement is to protect my marital happiness. The separation from my wife is punitive. Preserving my marriage is my goal from this side. My wife continues to be proud of her man, and this alone is worth any price. My objective is to give even more to the woman I love.

I concede the task is burdensome from where I sit, but daily writing, email, and telephone calls are the tools at my disposal. I take full advantage of each. My writing skills have improved dramatically; I use the ‘Thinking Man’s Thesaurus’ to describe my feelings and flesh out the ideas I write. I mail a weekly book report about my current reading list, and I share my prayers and hopes for the future - the list continues. This strategy has strengthened our bond, and the desire to see each other is more intense. I believe I can come away from this experience with a stronger marriage, and my wife has expressed the same joy.

Next week, I will share my progress regarding my health, mental improvements, and financial peace in the next blog.