A letter from Darius

As part of my commitment to my OneWord, I want to do MORE to help make the world a better place. So when my church asked for volunteers to be pen pals for prisoners, I raised my hand.

After all, we shouldn't judge a person's entire life by his worst moment, and we should treat the least among us as we would treat the Lord.

But then I was paired with Darius, who is serving a life sentence for double homicide. I admit I was apprehensive. But I made the commitment, so I wrote to him.

Today, I got his first letter in response. It was humbling. He said he wished he had words bigger than "thank you" to express how it felt to have me take time out to write to him.

In my initial letter, I asked him about his spiritual path. He answered that he was raised Baptist and while he's drifted some during this stay in prison, he still believes in Christ. He reads occasionally and likes to play chess. He hopes someday to be free, though at 49 he's already spent more than half his life in prison. He hinted that he'd like help with his legal fees, but I'm ignoring that. He worries that I may never write back, but even so, he's grateful that I took the time that one time "to reach out."

I wrote back to him immediately. I let him know that I'm 62 -- hopefully dispelling any romantic notions he may have -- and how tough it is to be surrounded by nothing but millennials. I mentioned that, while I write for a living, it's a refreshing change of pace to express myself with handwritten words to a specific individual. I outlined my own spiritual path, that like him I was raised in a traditional Protestant congregation but I found it lacking because it didn't give me much opportunity to live my faith. I promised him I'd write him once/month.

We'll see how it progresses. But right now, it feels good. With really very little effort, I'm brightening someone's day and helping him feel better connected to the world outside the prison walls.