Sentenced to a 15-year prison sentence for aggavated assault, Lee Miller felt as if he had let God down. Instead, God was preparing to show him another side of His grace.
Raised on the east side of Houston, Texas, in the ‘70s, Lee Miller never knew his father. His mother lived close by, but didn’t raise him. It was his Uncle Alva and Auntie Marie who stepped up, selflessly taking in Lee and one of his sisters.
Though his family situation was not ideal, his childhood was normal. He went to school, played sports, and enjoyed hanging out with friends. But after graduating high school, Lee went to college and faced new challenges and pressures.
Lee fathered a son and struggled with being present in his child’s life. He got sidetracked, started dealing drugs, and picked up a felony charge, which led to probation. Even after a dangerously close brush with prison time, Lee didn’t initially stop making wrong life choices.
“It Should Have Been Me”
Tragedy struck in 1993 when Lee’s older brother was shot and killed in a domestic dispute. “He was a good guy and I was the bad guy,” says Lee, remembering the internal struggle he felt over his brother’s passing. “It should have been me, not him.”
Drowning in hurt, Lee knew he needed to make a change in his life. He accepted an invitation from a Christian friend to attend a three-day church revival service. “I experienced so much love like I’d never experienced before,” recalls Lee, who returned to church the following Sunday and accepted Christ into his life. He soon got involved in church activities and felt a call to get further engaged in ministry.
Holding onto the Past
Even in the midst of a positive life transformation, Lee struggled with old habits. Although he wasn’t dealing drugs anymore, he maintained unhealthy relationships—one with an old girlfriend—that hindered his progress.
“It’s funny how you can turn your life around and still hold onto some things,” says Lee. “One thing I held onto was a gun I had while I was running the streets.”
Dreadfully, during a heated altercation, Lee shot and injured his girlfriend. His brother’s fate flashed before his eyes, and he knew immediately that he had made a terrible, fateful decision—one that would shape the rest of his life, for better or worse.
In March 1995, Lee began a 15-year prison sentence for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. In prison, Lee felt utter condemnation. “I felt like I let God down,” he remembers. “I failed a lot of people who believed in me.” And the valley of his life seemed to grow deeper still.
During his incarceration, Lee’s grandmother passed away. Just one month later, Lee and his fellow inmates watched breaking news coverage of a house fire in Houston—the very house belonging to his aunt and uncle. Auntie Marie was killed in that fire, crushing Lee’s spirit with guilt and helplessness.
But, “God showed me another side of His grace,” recalls Lee.
Out of the Valley
Lee truly regretted his actions, and asked God for forgiveness. “God went through a process of restoring me and building me up,” says Lee.
In 1997, The InnerChange Freedom Initiative® (InnerChange) opened in the nearby Carol Vance Unit. InnerChange is an intensive, values-based reentry program developed by and affiliated with Prison Fellowship®. Lee wanted so badly to participate but was unable to meet the requirements due to the timing of his release.
Lee always hoped he’d get out early. But to carry out God’s full plan, Lee would complete his full sentence, allowing him to join the InnerChange reentry program that he had heard about for over a decade.
In InnerChange, Lee soaked up Biblical and life-skills education like a sponge—grateful for the opportunity to strengthen his walk with God. “In prison, I was able to really excel as a Christian leader and servant,” says Lee. “God was able to use me. I was serving Him.”
“Lee was able to develop himself in a Christian environment in InnerChange,” says Chaplain Bill Hays, Lee’s longtime mentor. “InnerChange is an excellent program that’s more helpful to guys when they get out than any other program I’ve seen. It bridges the gap.”
A Deeper Devotion
Lee was released in March 2010 and began a new part of his journey—life on the outside.
“While a participant in the InnerChange program, Lee was devoted to being a difference maker,” says Tommie Dorsett, program director with Prison Fellowship. “He was the spiritual and emotional leader of many of the other participants. And since his release, he’s making a real difference in the community.”
Lee was accepted into a university and works full-time in construction. He is active in his church’s youth ministry—a passion he shares with his 77-year-old mentor, who attends the same church.
“I’m happy to have someone who invested in my life while I was incarcerated,” says Lee of Chaplain Hays. “And to have a relationship with him on this side is beautiful.”
Lee is working to mend and build other relationships in his life. He speaks with his mother regularly, and is starting the rebuilding process with his now 19-year-old son. He also prayed that God would connect him with the father he never knew. Just three months after his release, God answered that prayer, and Lee’s father actually found him.
“My auntie and uncle never gave up on me. God never gave up on me,” says Lee. “I want to show that same devotion to the people in my life… and to my Savior, Jesus Christ.”