The Father and the Son

 On January 20, 2020, around three in the morning, I was being transported to prison with several

other inmates.

Among them was a younger man who seemed extremely nervous. Something about him stood

out to me.

He asked if he would be going to prison with the rest of us.

The Spirit prompted me to comfort him.

I told him he would likely just be returning to the county jail to be released.

Later that morning I arrived at High Desert State Prison with thirteen other inmates and was

assigned to a cell.

When the cell door opened, a tall man stood inside. I felt nervous at first, but the Spirit reassured

me: “You’re okay. Give him a chance.”

We began talking.

Eventually he mentioned his family and offered to show me photographs of his children.

He placed a stack of pictures on the desk.

The first photo on top showed two boys.

I immediately recognized one of them.

It was the young man I had spoken to earlier that morning before being transported.

The boy in the photograph was his son.

In that moment I felt overwhelmed.

The very person I had been guided to encourage hours earlier was now revealed to be the son of

my cellmate.

And the first photograph he chose to show me was the one containing the familiar face I had

been looking for.

I had been praying for a sign—a familiar face in an unfamiliar place—and there it was.

Later that same day my cellmate was transferred to another unit.

He had been placed in my cell long enough to show me the photographs and fulfill his role in

that moment.

Soon afterward another cellmate arrived who would eventually help connect me with the

publishing company that would release my book.

Looking back, every piece of the moment had already been arranged.