I, along with a bajillion others, decided to go see Les Miserables this past week. Believe it or not, prior to this outing I had never read or seen a broadway production or movie of this story. I had seen clips and knew the gist of the plot. I have always meant to read the almost 1500 page book - but have not gotten to it. I am determined to add this to my list of to-dos for 2013. What's on your list?
As I mentioned before - there were a bajillion people out to see the movie. Many of them know the Les Mis story. They have been anticipating it and brought their tissues, were willing to overlook the crowds, the cost, the thirty minutes of previews, and the sticky floors to see this classic heart wrenching story. All the while knowing there will be collective tears shed publicly throughout, and the ending is only bittersweet.
It's certainly not the most entertaining movie one could see this holiday season. This story obviously speaks to so many something far greater, more powerful, and deep.
Mercy. Grace. Love.
I am encouraged by the scads of people. I am encouraged at the numbers that would convene to watch this weepy drama unfold. It gives me hope. I keep thinking of the scene with the priest and how he changed the trajectory of the main character, Jean Valjean. (For those that don't know the story…)
And I keep thinking how with N2LIFE these large numbers of people that "get it" could play a part in the unfolding drama of another person's life and show
Mercy. Grace. Love. …for real, right now.
And I am hopeful.
I do not mean to romanticize it. To be sure it will not feel like a movie. There is no reason to believe your silver will be stolen and that you will have to gift it. Actually, there are boundaries and rules that we have in place to protect you from such things. There will be no soundtrack, probably very little singing - certainly not in place of dialogue unless that's how you roll. It will not end in 2 or 3 hours and there probably will be no large audience offering thunderous applause at the end…and, about the end, it may not be quite clear.
In all seriousness, you may not get to reap the benefits of your part, see and know what comes to fruition because of your participation. A year is a pretty short time to witness significant growth. I certainly can't promise you that the part you play will effect your companion in the same way as it did Jean Valjean. As I know you know, people are messy. No one can ever have that kind of assurance. The priest didn't, but he gave
Mercy. Grace. Love. ...anyway.
What I will tell you is, often the clients (yes, the prisoners) are moved to tears that someone would give of their time to visit them inside prison weekly for an hour, care about them, walk and process with them through the struggles of freedom once released. Your visits are often the one thing they have to look forward to. As you can imagine, healthy companionship and encouragement is often in short supply. The men are asking for this help, participate voluntarily, are not scary but are scared. I can tell you that getting out is hard, freedom can be cumbersome, and help is needed - but I ask that you come and see for yourself, come play a part. You won't be alone. You will receive training and support from both N2LIFE and Kansas Department of Corrections. In addition, you will be connected with other mentors and resources for ongoing support and encouragement yourselves.
As we end 2012, please not only consider giving a year end tax deductible gift , (while you can!) but deliberate and reflect on adding mentoring to your 2013 to-dos list and be a part of this ongoing powerful story of
Mercy. Grace. Love.
An online mentoring application form will be added to our site in the next few days. Please check back, or contact us at n2lifeproject@gmail.com if you are interested and we will send you a link when it is up.
Joy and Peace be with you this coming year!
Julie
