Although Mississippi native Michael dedicated his life to God in 1996, he did not walk in obedience, embracing what he calls an “expensive lifestyle and drug habit.” In 2001, he was sentenced to serve 30 years at the Federal Correctional Institute (FCI) in Memphis, Tennessee.

God then used his aunt’s message to reignite his faith.

“I took that and ran with it,” Michael says. “I stayed in my Bible every day, all day.”

While incarcerated, Michael attended Bible study up to eight times a week and soon began what would become a 15-year position working in various chaplain offices. Prison, for all its trials and setbacks, proved conducive to his relationship with God.

“It was only when I went to prison and I really picked up the Bible that I started having a personal, intimate relationship with Him because I found myself with no one else but Him,” he says.

Michael was introduced to Prison Fellowship^® one weekend during his first year in prison. He won a book from Charles Colson, the organization’s founder, when Prison Fellowship volunteers held a weekend retreat at FCI Memphis.

So when Christmas rolled around, Michael was familiar enough with Prison Fellowship to know about Prison Fellowship Angel Tree^®, which partners with local churches to help incarcerated men and women stay connected with their children all year long. Angel Tree Christmas involves sending children a Christmas gift, a personal message of love from their parent behind bars, and the Gospel. Michael signed up his daughter, Brittiani, who was only 5 when he was sentenced.

As Michael honored his aunt’s words and allowed his time in prison to train him spiritually, more blessings arose. Two years into Michael’s sentence, Triniere, his first girlfriend from elementary school, with whom he had remained good friends, learned of his incarceration. She began faithfully visiting him and eventually became a deeply trusted companion.

“She stuck by my side,” says Michael. “One thing led to another.”

They were married in 2008. However, the bitterness of grief followed the joys of marriage. In 2011, Michael’s mother passed away, and he was denied permission to leave prison to attend her funeral.

Michael was furious with God the day he learned of his mother’s passing. As he sat in solitude and silence on his facility’s softball field, he heard not a booming voice from the sky but a gentle whisper within his spirit. He felt God speaking to Him.

“He said, ‘I created you, and I created her, and I let you borrow her for 53 years. And you ought to be thankful for that,’” says Michael. “I got up, went into the chaplain's [office], put a Do Not Disturb sign on the door, put me some spiritual Christian music on, and I cried for about three hours.”

God’s presence continued to comfort Michael when his father died 11 months later.

This difficult season trained Michael to abide in faith even during grief-filled trials, something that would allow him to minister to others before and after his release.

Not long after his parents’ passing, Michael was diagnosed with Stage 4 lymphoma cancer. He was transferred to Federal Medical Center Butner in North Carolina for chemo treatment. Despite his illness, he ministered to other patients at the medical center by serving as the head of hospice volunteers. Little did Michael know that this season of ministry would prepare him for the work that awaited him after his release.

Michael also taught Bible classes in Butner, and this is how he met a military veteran named Sam. The two men both served as chaplain assistants and grew to become close friends.

One day during Michael’s treatments, Sam arranged a surprise visit from Michael’s wife.

“He had paid for her round-trip ticket, hotel fare, [and] had two deacons, one which was his brother, to pick her up,” says Michael. “They chauffeured her. They gave her change to come into the prison. And he did this every year for me.”

After four years in Butner, Michael was brought before the judge who had originally sentenced him. The judge noted how Michael had taken nearly every single class the Bureau of Prisons offered and marveled that Michael had not received a single write-up or complaint in almost 17 years of incarceration.

The judge reduced Michael’s sentence by 62 months, and he was released in March 2019.

Michael returned to his family, including his daughter, four grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren. He also remained close to Sam. Michael attended Sam’s wedding and even received a comment of gratitude and appreciation for the impact Michael had on his life when Sam received his doctorate.

After his release, Michael secured jobs at AutoZone and Nike. Because he had studied the driving manual his wife sent him in prison, Michael obtained his driver’s license within three days of his release.

However blessed Michael is, life on the outside has still brought challenges. Michael has been paying off his restitution while receiving lifelong, monthly cancer treatments. Transportation has posed another problem. Michael’s mother had left him a car after she passed, but it was missing a motor. In an act of kindness, his aunt gave him money to restore the car.

Michael never forgot the incarcerated men he lived with and others who are still behind bars. He has made it a point to serve those in prison and their children.

Once an Angel Tree parent, Michael is now an Angel Tree coordinator, helping to bring joy and connection to families.

“I'm so adamant in trying to do something for other kids through Angel Tree because of that experience right there,” he says, referring to the impact Angel Tree made on him and his daughter.