Now that you are no longer imprisoned behind walls of concrete and cold steel, now that you are no longer confined within a small squalid cell, now that you no longer live under the constant threat of murderous inmate violence and lockdowns, and no longer have to survive and subsist on bad tasting prison food, what will you do? Now that you have been granted the privilege of rejoining society and once more able to savor the sweet heady nectar of freedom, all we want to know is, will you keep The Promise of Love you made to us?
The Promise of Love was the vow you made to us when you promised to turn from your former self-destructive ways. You promised to renounce them, reject them and repudiate them for the rest of your life! You made this promise to us because you said you loved us and truly cared for us. You vowed to cause us no further pain and disappointment, and that you would prove worthy of our trust. You pledged this Promise of Love to us, whom you said were the most important people in your life. This group encompasses God, family, friends, lovers, spouses, life partners and any others who entered into a emotionally intimate relationship with you. So now that you are free, we ask you, we challenge you, and without any remorse or shame, we beseech you to redeem this Promise of Love you made to us.
Because if you do, you will gain a world complete and replete with love, opportunity, and wonder. Conversely, if you fail to keep your Promise of Love, not only will you surely return to prison, but you run the real risk of ruining and terminating many of the supportive loving relationships of which you have been richly blessed!
Firstly, never forget for one moment that you, indeed, have truly been richly blessed...especially by God! God was the one who watched over you during your incarceration. He was the one who protected you from hurt, harm, and danger. God dried your tears, calmed your fears, assuaged your myriad insecurities, and gave you favor from the people whose benevolence you needed the most. God was there in your darkest moments of loneliness and doubt and demonstrated to you such unconditional love that you pledged to Him first, your Promise of Love. Of all the important relationships you possess in this life, treasure this one the most! NEVER take this one for granted because just as God granted you your freedom again, He can surely take it away! For was it not declared in the Bible that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." So we urge you to be wise and keep your Promise of Love that you made to Him.
Secondly, keep your Promise of Love to your friends, family, and loved ones. They have suffered much from your incarceration. They have been deprived of your presence, your hugs, your kisses, your loving embraces, and financial support. Because of you, they have been locked into emotional prisons of their own. When the steel doors closed upon you, so did their sentence of pain and emotional confinement begin. They could have easily mitigated their own hurt by denouncing and renouncing you. And some probably did, but the ones who did not, were the ones who truly loved you. They knew that to continue to love you would subject them to much pain, hurt, emotional and financial sacrifice. But they did not shirk nor shrink from this onerous task because they truly loved you and true love is made perfect through self-sacrifice. Make sure you are worthy of their sacrifice. Keep your Promise of Love to them!
Lastly, keep your Promise of Love to yourself. You must realize and believe that you are worthy of being loved and that you deserve the opportunity to redeem your life. Now it is up to you make wise and worthy choices from this moment on. These type of choices will enable you to achieve a life of love, happiness and fulfillment. All men make mistakes; it is due to our humanity. But, it is the Divinity within us that enables us to learn from these mistakes, and modify our behaviors, thereby enabling us to grow stronger, wiser, and more loving. Moreover, this attitude is critically important to your future well being. Because if you do not and cannot love yourself, if you do not and cannot see that you are worthy of love then you will not be able to accept and receive love from God, family, friends, and loved ones. No matter how much God and your loved ones reach out to you, you will not be able to fully appreciate and benefit from the love and support they offer you. Realize that when you love yourself, you empower yourself to meet the challenges and obstacles that will surely come your way as you rejoin, re-establish and reintegrate yourself within society, family and your personal relationships. But the wonderful news is that you will ultimately succeed if you unfailingly, unswervingly, and faithfully strive to keep your Promises of Love! Redeem them! Redeem yourself and redeem the loving trust given to you by God, family, friends, and loved ones and you will replace those old painful memories with newer and happier memories. Be faithful and vigilant and you will truly experience the transforming restorative power that the Promise of Love can bestow!
The Promise of Love was the vow you made to us when you promised to turn from your former self-destructive ways. You promised to renounce them, reject them and repudiate them for the rest of your life! You made this promise to us because you said you loved us and truly cared for us. You vowed to cause us no further pain and disappointment, and that you would prove worthy of our trust. You pledged this Promise of Love to us, whom you said were the most important people in your life. This group encompasses God, family, friends, lovers, spouses, life partners and any others who entered into a emotionally intimate relationship with you. So now that you are free, we ask you, we challenge you, and without any remorse or shame, we beseech you to redeem this Promise of Love you made to us.
Because if you do, you will gain a world complete and replete with love, opportunity, and wonder. Conversely, if you fail to keep your Promise of Love, not only will you surely return to prison, but you run the real risk of ruining and terminating many of the supportive loving relationships of which you have been richly blessed!
Firstly, never forget for one moment that you, indeed, have truly been richly blessed...especially by God! God was the one who watched over you during your incarceration. He was the one who protected you from hurt, harm, and danger. God dried your tears, calmed your fears, assuaged your myriad insecurities, and gave you favor from the people whose benevolence you needed the most. God was there in your darkest moments of loneliness and doubt and demonstrated to you such unconditional love that you pledged to Him first, your Promise of Love. Of all the important relationships you possess in this life, treasure this one the most! NEVER take this one for granted because just as God granted you your freedom again, He can surely take it away! For was it not declared in the Bible that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." So we urge you to be wise and keep your Promise of Love that you made to Him.
Secondly, keep your Promise of Love to your friends, family, and loved ones. They have suffered much from your incarceration. They have been deprived of your presence, your hugs, your kisses, your loving embraces, and financial support. Because of you, they have been locked into emotional prisons of their own. When the steel doors closed upon you, so did their sentence of pain and emotional confinement begin. They could have easily mitigated their own hurt by denouncing and renouncing you. And some probably did, but the ones who did not, were the ones who truly loved you. They knew that to continue to love you would subject them to much pain, hurt, emotional and financial sacrifice. But they did not shirk nor shrink from this onerous task because they truly loved you and true love is made perfect through self-sacrifice. Make sure you are worthy of their sacrifice. Keep your Promise of Love to them!
Lastly, keep your Promise of Love to yourself. You must realize and believe that you are worthy of being loved and that you deserve the opportunity to redeem your life. Now it is up to you make wise and worthy choices from this moment on. These type of choices will enable you to achieve a life of love, happiness and fulfillment. All men make mistakes; it is due to our humanity. But, it is the Divinity within us that enables us to learn from these mistakes, and modify our behaviors, thereby enabling us to grow stronger, wiser, and more loving. Moreover, this attitude is critically important to your future well being. Because if you do not and cannot love yourself, if you do not and cannot see that you are worthy of love then you will not be able to accept and receive love from God, family, friends, and loved ones. No matter how much God and your loved ones reach out to you, you will not be able to fully appreciate and benefit from the love and support they offer you. Realize that when you love yourself, you empower yourself to meet the challenges and obstacles that will surely come your way as you rejoin, re-establish and reintegrate yourself within society, family and your personal relationships. But the wonderful news is that you will ultimately succeed if you unfailingly, unswervingly, and faithfully strive to keep your Promises of Love! Redeem them! Redeem yourself and redeem the loving trust given to you by God, family, friends, and loved ones and you will replace those old painful memories with newer and happier memories. Be faithful and vigilant and you will truly experience the transforming restorative power that the Promise of Love can bestow!
-Excerpt from my new Book: They Say That I Am Broken
Written by featured Author and Creative Writer: ASIM-
There are also thousands of same-gender-loving people incarcerated as well. The following is an excerpt (AUDIO PRESENTATION) from my best selling book: LOVE WON'T LET ME BE SILENT
Written by featured Author and Creative Writer: ASIM-
-CLICK ON PHOTO ABOVE TO HEAR AUDIO EXCERPT-
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