Two Graced Events

Last week I experienced two events:  the birth of Taylor and the death of Richard – God was busy that day because BOTH happened on the same day!  Taylor is the first grandchild of my friends Gail and Bill.   Richard was a prisoner in our Restorative Justice circle.  To begin a life, any life, is a miracle.  Both of these lives are extraordinary!  Taylor was born in the morning and Gail is my driver to the prisons I go to.  She is also a prison ministry volunteer, an artist and a teacher.  We were scheduled to go to prison that night but Taylor’s birth took precedence.   Gail always made a point of greeting every man in our circle by name!  When she greeted Richard he would say, “I don’t know if I’ll come back next week.”  She responded, “Then I won’t either!”  At the end of the 12 weeks Richard was both stunned and honored to be chosen by the other men to be their graduation speaker.

Ruth Poochigian, O.P.

Madison, WI