Peaches followed in her family's footsteps. Unfortunately for her, that meant getting locked up.
"When I came to prison, I was lost," she says.
Facing the daunting sentence before her, Peaches had to make a choice. Would she do her time the "hard way"? Without direction or wisdom from mentors, her future looked bleak.
HELPING HANDS
Peaches wasn’t sure why anyone would choose to reach out and invest in her. Caring Christian volunteers would come spend time with her and helped her walk with the Lord.
"They've been my support system," she says. "These strangers are willing to help me and guide me."
At first it was hard to accept their help. Peaches struggled to open up to others. She wasn't ready to talk about her life with people she barely knew.
"At first it was kind of weird," she explains. "I'm not used to telling people my business or putting myself out there like that."
Despite the initial hurdles, her life has changed forever because of those kind strangers.
PASSING IT ALONG
The hardest thing for Peaches was trying to figure out why. Why would anyone choose her? What did she do to deserve their attention? Now she chooses to help other young women serving time at her facility. At a Prison Fellowship Hope Event™, she joined many of those women to spread hope and celebrate their faith in the Lord.
"I try to tell the young lifers there's a chance," she says. "They come into prison thinking 'I'm never going home. It doesn't matter.' I'm not telling them how to do their time. I'm just telling them, 'This is where you should be at. Because obviously it wasn't working there … so why do it here?'"
Thinking about her peers, mentors, and the daughter who awaits her return, Peaches has learned to grow behind bars and find hope for the days ahead.
"I was dysfunctional on the streets," she recalls. "I've been sober two years now … I'm changing and I'm trying to walk with the Lord."
BIBLES ARE NEEDED NOW MORE THAN EVER
Prisons across the country are on lockdown due to COVID-19, and Bibles are one of the only ways to still get hope behind prison bars. And nothing provides hope like the living Word of God. The demand for Bibles is at an all-time high. Will you help us meet the need? Please give generously today and your gift will be doubled thanks to a matching grant!
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