God knows your name, and exactly where you are.

I was instructed to sit in the hall on the floor with a group of inmates. I barely sat down and a man about 50 looked at me and said “you have great faith would you pray for me”


I didn’t think that I had great faith, but I did know that God had forgiven me and that when I had acknowledged Jesus peace and trust flowed into my being. I prayed for him, not giving a second thought to the other prisoners who were staring at me like I was nuts.

Soon I was given a slip of paper with some letters and a number on it. I learned that this was a bunk assignment. I was instructed to keep my left shoulder on the wall as I walked down the corridor to my tier. This place was huge, and it was dismal. Many stories high and drab, noise emitted from the halls of grief. I located the tier climbed the stairs and found the door that I was to go through. I was overwhelmed with the size of this place. How many people were there? Ten thousand, or twenty thousand, maybe lots more? I must have walked a mile down the hall, and observed thirty or forty sections that had five floors and a dozen tiers on each floor. This place was huge, and it was dark. I started to worry as I could imagine all the evil that was lurking confined in the system.

I knocked on the door, and heard the familiar sound of jailer’s keys rattling and turning the lock. The door swung open, I was apprehensive to say the least. As the door opened wide I heard a voice exclaim. “Laney!! I never thought I would see you again”

I looked into the face of Officer Hemby. Hemby was about six foot 5 and weighed in at about 300 pounds. He was an ex professional football player who was a prison guard at CMC in San Luis Obispo where I had done my time. I said “everything is different Hemby, I got saved” He wrapped his massive arms around me lifting me off the ground for only an instant. Quickly he set me down and wiped the tears from his dark ebony face. Looking to the right and the left he observed that his spontaneous act of love had not been noticed. I knew in that instant of time that he had invested much prayer into me.

Later as I sat on my bunk, I was awestruck with the odds at what had just happened. Hemby, I had learned was there at receiving for a couple of days. He had received a promotion to become a parole officer in Los Angeles and would take his new position that week. Of all the doors that I could have been sent to, and of all the days that he would be here, it was here and now. I was, and am overwhelmed by God’s love.