“We are not placed in society’s arena to live on a flowery bed of ease, but to do that which we’ve been called to do in the best manner that we can to bring the project to fruition and God himself will make up the shortage.”

Our destinies are oftentimes locked into someone we’re supposed to meet or something we’re supposed to do. For years, I have put on the back burner, so to speak, a task I should have undertaken a while back. As the former Chief Chaplain of the Passaic County Jail in the City of Paterson, NJ, I came in contact with women who went back to prostituting after their penal release because they had no where to go.

In many instances, their relationships with family members were terrible at best. They had used and abused their loved ones and those family members simply said, “Enough! I’ve had it!” Understood. Still, such women need to be both redeemed and restored to society so they can not only regain their humanity but also give back to those from whom they’ve taken.

A tall order, yes. But doable, nevertheless. There’s seldom any room in the inn, if you will, for such felons. After all, few trust them and most fear them. Again, all this is understandable. The fact of the matter is, some of them will continue to steal and hurt people unless they experience a circumcision of the heart.

Therefore, I’m in the planning stages of opening a transitional house for a few of these women. The ministries can handle a few only, simply because these are hard, vicious women for the most part, who have spent most of their lives getting over on anyone who demonstrated kindness and concern.

I don’t yet have a site location. I am before the Lord regarding that matter. But I solicit our readers’ prayers and suggestions regarding any advice on this matter, especially from those who’ve been down this road before.

We are not placed in society’s arena to live on a flowery bed of ease, but to do that which we’ve been called to do in the best manner that we can, to bring the project to fruition and God Himself will make up the shortage.

I intend to engage in meticulous planning and well-thought out, what ifs. Too often, I’ve passed some of these women in the street and I’m inclined to believe that underneath the hardness, game-playing personas lie untapped virgin souls waiting to rise from their dormant state to do some things they previously didn’t know they could accomplish.

Fortunately, there are a few good folks who stand at the ready to assist me in this venture for we are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers even when the task at hand seems unpleasant or unattainable.

Before my mother died last November, my daughter had become bone tired from the agony of dealing with her grandmother’s dementia and later Alzheimer’s disease. I was tired too, but knew I had to press on.

I said this to her, “Even though you’re tired and frustrated, there will come a day when you will be glad that you did all you could do for grandma.” Well, that day came on Nov. 4, 2004.

I tackle this problem with the same kind of philosophical idealism. Even though the road will be hard because oftentimes the very people you try to help, turn on you, in the final analysis, it is truly the right thing to do. And, God will be pleased.

Contact Rev. Nance at t_nance@hotmail.com