A little more than a year ago, Steve and I met for the first time. He was barely taller than me now at 6’2” he towers over me when we meet. One year ago, he looked like a kid. Yesterday I noticed he looked like a teenager, a boy on the brink of becoming a man.

During our first meeting, we could barely come up with anything to talk about. A year later I am staying later to finish our conversations. We have a relationship. I know him and he knows me. He asks about my friends, family, roommates, and job. He is excited to share the few things he hears from his family.

Last year Steve seemed to lack ambition and focus. Now we are working on getting his GED and he is the lead worker in the on-site upholstery department. Whereas he came behind the fence with nothing, he will leave with over $1,200 that he has earned through hard work and dedication as well as forklift and brick masonry certificates.

However, during our first Christmas party we sang carols and took pictures with his “homie” who, a few days after being released, shot himself. Just another death. Yesterday Steve was elated because his mom is being released from prison on Friday yet he heard from his parole officer his father and brother had been locked up.

In two months, Steve will regain his freedom. While he is a completely different person, ready to take on the responsibilities of a man, the world outside the fence is still the same. He will encounter the same challenges he left. The same hardships he has been protected from behind the fence.

Leaving yesterday I was both encouraged and challenged. I am fortunate to see a life changed for the better. However, I have no control over the decisions Steve chooses to make as he re-enters circumstances I will never understand. I have no clue how much we will actually communicate, if I will actually be a part of his future failures and successes. Hopefully one day I will see Steve playing basketball on television instead of the local incarcerations. I pray we keep in touch and he stays out of trouble, but I also know that when he is finally free my only option is to pray.

Luckily I am confident that my prayers are powerful and effective. I know the Lord loves Steve and wants the best for him, much more than I can comprehend. I believe Steve can greatly exceed the expectations the world has on him. He is smart and kind and motivated. Steve can not only change the course of his life, but the lives of his family and friends as well. And whether or not I will ever know what happens, I am fortunate to have been a small part of his life.

**Names have been changed for their protection