Trial of Faith

Today’s bartender in the Dverse Lounge is Mish. We are working on a Haibun about faith. Here’s mine:

As I returned to my cell that day, I was quite angry. My arraignment had not gone well at all. I didn’t wear a disguise in any of the armed robberies. I hadn’t used a real gun, or injured anyone. Nonetheless, the prosecutor said that if I didn’t plea bargain for twenty years, he would see that I got four life sentences! It was 1975, I could be locked up till I was forty years old.

I was very angry, cursing God, screaming out loud. I was alone in the cell that day. As I carried on, I said to myself, “I don’t know why i’m cussing him, i don’t even believe he exists.” But then I thought, “I sure wish there was a god; I’m in a world of hurt here.” Suddenly there came a sweet presence falling around me. it was the most loving essence I had ever experienced! I broke down and began sobbing uncontrollably. I knew immediately Who it was. My heart was changed instantly when He touched my heart.

I still had to go to prison for four years; get out, go to work and try to regain the confidence of my family and community. It was a long road to hoe, that was over 40 years ago. But God touched my heart in an instant and changed my life forever.

My heart was changed
When winds of faith fanned mercy
Seasons changed in time