Prison Fellowship

Remember Those in Prison

  • DONATE
    • One-Time
    • Monthly
    • Angel Tree
    • Other Ways to Give
  • GET INVOLVED
    • Volunteer
    • Subscribe
    • Angel Tree Christmas
    • Pray With Us
    • Justice Action Center
    • Share on Social
  • STORIES
    • Stories
    • Blog
    • Videos
    • The Restoration Series [Videos]
  • WHAT WE DO
    • Why Help Prisoners?
    • What We Do
    • In-Prison
      • Prison Fellowship Academy
      • In-Prison Programs
      • Hope Events
      • Inside Journal
      • Women’s Ministry
      • Create: New Beginnings
    • Preparing Prisoners for Reentry
    • Angel Tree
      • Register your church or group for Angel Tree
      • Angel Tree Overall
      • Angel Tree Christmas
      • Angel Tree Camping
      • Angel Tree Sports Clinic
    • Justice Reform
      • Second Chance Month
      • Sign the Justice Declaration
      • Get a Copy of Outrageous Justice
    • Warden Exchange
  • RESOURCES
    • Subscribe to Our Email
    • Support for Friends and Family of Prisoners
      • Coping with Incarceration
      • Resources for Prisoners
      • Resources for Children of Prisoners
      • Supporting Successful Prisoner Reentry
    • Resources for Churches and Volunteers
      • In-Prison Ministry
      • Reentry Ministry
      • Family Ministry
      • Justice Reform
      • Mentoring Ministry
    • Resources for Angel Tree® Church Coordinators
    • Resources for Chaplains
    • Resources for D.O.C.
    • Justice Reform Resources
    • For Media Outlets
  • ABOUT US
    • Leadership
    • Chuck Colson
    • Our Beliefs
    • Financials
      • 2020 Annual Report
    • Employment
    • Contact Us
    • In The News

Bounce Through—Not Back: How to Be Resilient

December 9, 2020 by Cody Wilde

Difficulties change us. How can we remain strong when nothing is the same?

three male prisoners pray

The following first appeared as a guest column in the Winter 2017 men's edition of Inside Journal®.

Inside Journal is a quarterly newspaper printed and distributed by Prison Fellowship® to correctional facilities across the country. Written specifically for incarcerated men and women, each issue (offered in a men's edition, a women's edition, and a Spanish-language edition) explains the Gospel in a fresh way, offers encouragement and motivation, and shares practical advice for the daily struggles of prison life.

People often define resilience as bouncing back from difficulties. But that’s impossible. You can never bounce back to the way things were because we are bound by time and experience, and both change us. You are a different person now than you were before. You can, however, integrate your life experiences into the person you want to become. You may not be able to bounce back, but you can bounce through to the other side.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE RESILIENT?

To be resilient, first you need to set a vision for who you want to be and decide which values will take you there. The second thing is to confront the ugliness right in front of you—the setbacks and risks in your own personal circumstances or the lingering consequences of your mistakes. Most people gravitate toward one or the other. They set a pie-in-the-sky vision that doesn’t account for the facts they face, or they get too paralyzed by the weight of their present situation to imagine how things could be different. Resilience lies in setting a middle course that holds vision and present reality in tension—deciding who you want to become and then choosing values that will guide you toward your goal, come what may. Principled perseverance and resilience are one and the same.

I have a friend serving a 24-year sentence who was a high-ranking gang member. He has a vision. He wants to incorporate positive values into his life, but he also knows that, when he gets out of prison, a number of people are going to want to harm him. The bounty on his head is the brutal fact he must struggle with. His greatest fear is that he will forsake his values.

I encourage my friend—and all you readers—to focus on building up your character. Internalize positive values until they become part of you. That way, in the moment of testing, you will be able to respond out of who you are—a new person—and you'll be able to bounce through.


ABOUT CODY WILDE

Cody Wilde is the national director of Academy operations at Prison Fellowship.

DISCOVER INSIDE JOURNAL

Launched in 1990, Inside Journal is packed with a variety of inspiring and engaging content on topics like parenting, conflict resolution, trauma and addiction recovery, and much more. Each edition offers the hope of the Gospel, relatable stories of other prisoners with transformed lives, and practical advice about making the most of a prison sentence.

LEARN MORE

DID YOU ENJOY THIS ARTICLE?

Make sure you don' t miss out on any of our helpful articles and incredible transformation stories! Sign up to receive our weekly newsletter, and you' ll get great content delivered directly to your inbox.

Your privacy is safe with us. We will never sell, trade, or share your personal information.

Filed Under: Feature Stories, Inside Journal, Prison & Prisoners Tagged With: Inside Journal, Resources

SELECT A TOPIC

  • Advocacy & Reentry
  • Angel Tree
  • Angel Tree® Stories
  • Families of Prisoners
  • Feature Stories
  • From the CEO
  • In-Prison Stories
  • Inside Journal
  • Press Releases
  • Prison & Prisoners
  • Prison Fellowship Academy
  • Prison Fellowship International
  • Prison Fellowship News & Updates
  • Reentry
  • Second Chance Stories
  • Stories
  • Uncategorized
  • Warden Exchange

MOST POPULAR

Free for Life

December 29, 2020

Congress Restores Access to Pell Grants for Incarcerated Students Seeking a Second Chance

December 17, 2020

A New Makeover for the New Year

December 16, 2020

LATEST VIDEOS

WATCH ALL VIDEOS

RESOURCES & INFORMATION

  • For Families & Friends of Prisoners
  • For Churches & Angel Tree Volunteers
  • For Media Outlets
  • For Wardens & Prison Officials

PF®

NEW ON OUR BLOG

  • Statement Regarding the Distribution of the COVID-19 Vaccine
  • Prison Fellowship and CrossWalk Center Offer Hope in Reentry
  • Sincere Surrender: An Agent of Change Serves Life in Prison
  • Response to the January 6 Events at the U.S. Capitol

FIND US ONLINE

FACEBOOK
TWITTER
INSTAGRAM
YOUTUBE
LINKEDIN

RECEIVE UPDATES

Sign up to receive news, stories, and information based on your needs and interests.

SUBSCRIBE TODAY

PFM®

  • CONTACT US
  • EMPLOYMENT
  • PRIVACY
  • FINANCIALS
© 2021 PRISON FELLOWSHIP®

Angel Tree®, Angel Tree Camping®, and Warden Exchange® are programs of Prison Fellowship®.