What Would Love Do Now

Yesterday, while I was on the phone with a friend, he asked me a question … having never before discussed a certain fact that I revealed about myself in a recent piece of writing. Knowing me as my ‘Good Girl – Earth Mother’ self, his question (coming from a place of curiosity - not judgment) was this …

“What exactly happened that brought you to a place in your life where you were willing to ‘throw down’ with a guy who had been in prison?”

Fair question, I admit, because it does seem quite out of character for my lifestyle … and I struggled hard to encapsulate the entire experience and offer an adequate answer that would do it justice the way it deserved to be answered. I lived it, I understood it, I knew it intimately … but I had a hard time, initially, putting it into words.

I told him the story of how I had met this man, developed a relationship with him, and eventually, how we parted ways – and then I summed my experience up in this one thought …

“I guess I believe that sometimes God sends bright stars into very dark places.”

I knew he understood just what I meant.

So here now, is my story of how I met Christopher (and others) who were every bit as much a gift for me as I hope I was for them …



Until two years ago, what I knew about prison could fit in a thimble - I had never even known someone who'd been in jail. But in the spring of 2006, when I decided to have a pool put in my backyard and hired a well-known, local pool builder to do the job, that would all change.

For anyone who’s ever had a pool built, you already understand what I mean when I say that the process seems to take on a life of its own. Building a pool is a major undertaking – and your crew becomes a familiar part of the landscape, being as they are there daily for a couple of months while beauty gets created.

As it turned out, the man who became my pool project manager had been in prison in the past, and to be honest, I don’t even remember exactly what for. Since that time, he had gotten out and was doing a great job of making a life for himself, his girlfriend and son. I had a lot of admiration for that, and over the months, we became friends. Close friends.

He spent a lot of time in my yard because he said that it was a ‘feel good’ place. He absolutely loved the way I accepted him and never judged him or treated him with any disrespect, even knowing his past – it was something he wasn’t used to. As we got to know each other better and the pool project neared the end, he knew that I was going to need a lot of landscaping work done - sprinklers, etc. - so he approached me one day with a question.

I could tell he was nervous, there was an obvious risk of rejection, but he gathered up the courage and spit it out. He said that he had a few friends that were going to be getting out of prison soon – explained that they would be needing to find honest jobs, and asked me if I would be willing to give them a chance to do the ditch digging, pipe laying etc., so that they could get on their feet.

It wasn’t a long process to determine what my response would be. I asked myself the same question Neale Donald Walsch was told by God (in Conversations With God)to consider in every situation …

What would Love do now?

My answer? ‘Of course. As long as they gave me a day's labor, I'll give them a day's pay. Bring them around.’

So, over the next 4 months, I met and became what I would call friend, to five more ex-convicts in total. (One of them being Christopher.) Perhaps the first real friend they had ever had.

I shared my house with them during the day, shared my family with them, cooked for them, helped them get to their court dates, worked on re-building their belief in themselves, etc.

I served them just as they served me. I treated them with respect. And it was empowering … for all of us.

From them, I expected trustworthiness – I set my standards high. And, guess what? They were always trustworthy around my home and my family. It’s amazing the miracle that happens when you can see in others what they cannot see in themselves. I was teaching by example, by modeling.

There is an old saying “Give a man a fish, and he’ll eat for a day, teach him how to fish he’ll eat forever.”

I did not just feed bread to these men … I broke bread with them. And I got to sit front row to watch the ‘soul changes’ take place. All I can say now is, what an honor.

One thing I’m sure of … no matter what becomes of each of their lives … they were not the same when they left my home as when they arrived – and I credit Love for that.

And that is the story of how I came to ‘throw down’ with the chain gang!


Good men.
Bad childhoods.
Wounded spirits.
Desperate souls.
Brilliant potential.

So, the next time you find yourself in an unfamiliar situation, and you are unsure what the right course of action is, ask yourself but one question …

What would Love do now?

And the answer will come easily. God will surely speak volumes into your heart.


Until Tomorrow …

Hugs (from the closet),

KimbraLee =)

P.S. - No man, regardless of his outward appearance, is ever any less than a bright star in the making!