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THE HOPE FOUND IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT
Melisha spent her life running from the law—and running from God. What could change her heart?
By Lexi Aggen
Like many children growing up in rural Georgia, Melisha’s young life revolved around church. She attended Sunday services, sang in the church choir, and participated in the children’s and youth ministries.
Though she knew about God, it would be years before Melisha would claim a personal relationship with Him.
“I was in the church, but church wasn’t inside of me,” she says.
STRIVING FOR LOVE
Melisha’s life changed dramatically when she was 10 years old; her parents divorced, and her father moved out of the house. Melisha internalized her father’s absence as evidence that she was unlovable.
“I felt like my daddy didn’t love me because he left the home. I felt like I had to do things to get my father back in the house,” she says.
As a result, Melisha thought she had to earn people’s affection. She started stealing money from her mom’s pocketbook to purchase gifts for other children, hoping to buy their love and friendship.
Soon, her mother decided Melisha was too much to handle on her own and sent Melisha to live with her grandparents. Later she went to live with her dad, who had remarried, but felt more like a stepchild than his actual daughter. By the time she graduated, Melisha had attended three different high schools. At each one, she had to navigate new relationships, constantly looking for validation and love. After graduation, she moved one more time to live with her uncle.
PUTTING ON A FACE
Melisha’s uncle lived in Connecticut, where he pastored a local church. She attended church services with her uncle, but her actions weren’t those of a Christ-follower.
“I knew [God] existed,” says Melisha. “I knew lots of Bible stories. I could quote the Scriptures in the Bible. … But I really didn’t have a relationship with God other than when I needed Him.”
While living with her uncle, Melisha became pregnant by a married man in the church. Hoping to spare her uncle from difficulties, she moved back to Georgia.
Now a single mother living on her own, Melisha struggled to make ends meet. She continued to attend church services but lived a different life outside of the church. She engaged in sexual activity, hoping to receive the love that she was desperately craving.
Eventually, as Melisha got older and continued making poor choices, she prayed for change, but it never felt like change was possible for her. She eventually lost faith in God.
At home, Melisha’s financial struggles continued. Determined not to ask her family for help—or let them know she was in trouble—she wrote her first bad check. When she didn’t get caught for writing a check for more money than she had in her bank account, she wrote more. Next she started writing checks from checkbooks that weren’t hers and even committed credit card fraud. But eventually, her criminal activities were discovered, and she was sent to jail.
Over the next few years, Melisha cycled in and out of jail. With each release, she would return to church, but also to her financial crimes. One day, while out of jail, Melisha was warned of a warrant for her arrest. She knew this warrant would likely result in a prison sentence. But Melisha was desperate not to go to prison. Instead, she fled the state.
"I really didn’t have a relationship with God other than when I needed Him.”
—Melisha
NOT THE WAY
Melisha ran to New York and planned to fake her death before leaving the country. She hoped that if she faked her death, she would no longer bring shame on her family. She wanted them to move on.
While on the run, Melisha called her pastor. She knew he wouldn’t encourage her actions, but she wanted to call him anyway. Each time, he would tell her to turn herself in, even offering to go with her.
Melisha finally agreed, but before going to jail, she suffered a mental health crisis and attempted suicide. She felt hopeless, distraught, and unable to see a point to her life. When she woke up, she was lying in a hospital bed, her pastor standing over her.
“Daughter, this is not the way,” Melisha recalls him saying. “Tell the truth, and leave the rest to God.”
She went to jail heavily medicated and suffering from depression. This time, she didn’t want to participate in religious services or have anything to do with God, because she believed she couldn’t be saved.
While awaiting trial in jail, a fellow prisoner told Melisha that she would soon take over a Bible study in the facility. Melisha wasn’t even reading the Bible at the time and dismissed the comment. But weeks later, somehow the impossible happened, and Melisha took over as leader.
She felt it was her duty to help women turn their lives to God, even though she didn’t believe this was possible for herself.
“I can’t get it right,” Melisha recalls believing, “I can’t live this Christian life. If I can help other ladies not go through the same thing … then that’s what my mission is.”
Melisha was eventually convicted and sentenced to 12 years in prison. It wasn’t until she was sent to administrative segregation because of a dispute with another woman that she would begin to understand who God was and who she was through Him.
Melisha felt it was her duty to help women turn their lives to God, even though she didn’t believe this was possible for herself.
A CHANGED HEART
While in solitary, Melisha felt like God gave her a vision of Jesus on the cross, bearing every sin she had ever committed. The love she had been trying to earn throughout her life was on display for her, written on the cross. In that moment, she gave her life fully to Christ.
During this time, Melisha discovered Inside Journal®, Prison Fellowship’s newspaper written for the incarcerated community, filled with testimonies, devotionals, and helpful guides for how to deal with incarceration well.
“I was just so amazed by the different stories and the transformation of what God did in other people’s lives. … Those stories would give you hope. It would give you encouragement that if God did it for them, He can do it for me.”
While reading Inside Journal, Melisha saw an advertisement for an Inside Journal Life Recovery Bible. This Bible is popular among the incarcerated community for its easy-to-read language and helpful 12-step daily devotionals. Melisha knew she wanted one—so she wrote to Prison Fellowship® to see if she could get a copy of her own.
The next week, the book cart came down the row, carrying an Inside Journal Life Recovery Bible. It was used and marked up, but Melisha knew it was a gift from God to her. She would later receive her own new copy, but for her time in solitary, this old Bible became her cherished possession.
“It was just amazing to have,” says Melisha. “It was just like me and Jesus, and He was talking, and I could understand [Him]. I didn’t have to try to figure it out.”
For Melisha, her time in solitary became a time of surrender. She consumed the Word of God and spent time in prayer. She even prayed that God would not release her—from solitary or from prison—until she was ready.
God ended up answering that prayer.
GROWING IN FREEDOM
Melisha was invited to become an orderly while in administrative segregation—a rare opportunity. The role would allow her to pass out materials to others in the unit and gave her vital moments of ministry. Her favorite item to distribute was Inside Journal.
“Some people didn’t read the Bible, but they would read the stories. Those stories helped them. … It definitely encouraged them that there’s life and that change is possible,” she says.
Melisha was also introduced to Prison Fellowship Angel Tree® during this time. Angel Tree provides a way for incarcerated moms and dads to deliver a gift at the holidays to their children, along with a heartfelt message of love and the Gospel. Melisha was elated—she had always struggled to provide for her son, and now she could see how God was providing for him. She signed him up immediately. Her sister had custody of her son while Melisha was incarcerated, and she often told Melisha how much her son looked forward to the gifts from Angel Tree.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Melisha was released under the First Step Act. Through this act, individuals could earn additional credits toward an early release. Her new release date allowed Melisha to be home for her mother’s 70th birthday.
“God used a pandemic,” she says. “He used a calamity that other people said was a messed-up time and a messed-up place. But God set so many people free during that time.”
"[God] used a calamity that other people said was a messed-up time and a messed-up place. But God set so many people free.”
—Melisha
AN ADVOCATE FOR OTHERS
On Nov. 18, 2020, Melisha’s father and sister picked her up from prison. The first thing she did after her release was call her son.
She describes her life since release as an uphill journey. Upon release, she found work in a warehouse—somewhere she never would’ve imagined herself. Within two years, she received four promotions. She started as an employee working on the assembly line but soon became an assistant manager.
“One of the things I had to do is humble myself,” Melisha says. “God is the One that elevated and promoted me.”
Melisha found her voice in the area of criminal justice reform, becoming a Justice Ambassador® with Prison Fellowship. Justice Ambassadors are a nationwide network of Christians who advocate for an approach to criminal justice that recognizes the value and potential of every person. Through the program, Melisha is able to meet with other believers from around the nation who are fighting for justice that restores.
Melisha also started a podcast called Jesus Is the Key to Reentry, where she encourages churches to be more involved in prison ministry. Her church welcomed her back with open arms, and now she encourages other churches to seek justice, provide employment, and welcome those released from prison.
Eventually, Melisha was invited to apply for a role as a forensic peer mentor for a company called iHOPE. In this role, she assists returning citizens with their release, helping them find employment, housing, and meet other needs for a successful reentry. She was shocked that her criminal background didn’t get in the way—in fact, it was a welcome addition! She now works in a women's prison, helping prepare others for reentry.
Her church welcomed her back with open arms, and now she encourages other churches to seek justice, provide employment, and welcome those released from prison.
LOVING THE CHILDREN
Her heart for Angel Tree continued upon release. In 2023, Melisha became an Angel Tree coordinator and hosted a Christmas party for 35 children through her church. Just one year later, her church served 120 children through the program.
“I remember feeling like I wasn’t loved,” says Melisha. “To give [a gift] to another kid who may be struggling in that area, means so much to me. … It’s not about the Christmas gift, it’s about showing the love of Jesus and knowing that [the children] are loved.”
Looking back over her life, Melisha now understands she doesn’t have to chase love. All the love she could ever want is a free gift of God. She knows she is set free, no matter what her circumstances are, because Christ has set her free.
Looking back over her life, Melisha now understands she doesn’t have to chase love. All the love she could ever want is a free gift of God.