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I want to ask for your prayers and positive energy today. My heart is gravid.

This morning I joined about 20 other people at the county "justice" building, to sit with a dear friend of ours, a gentle, humble, open, loving, compassionate, gracious, optimistic, strong, intelligent, talented, insightful, curious, diligent, always-improving, always-healing, always-growing, always-seeking woman, as she was sentenced to six years in state prison (for doing something that is unwise and technically illegal, but not wrong at all and that she did as an act of compassion). A well-spoken elder woman from our church took the stand, vouched for our friend's beautiful character, and begged for mercy; the judge looked annoyed and didn't even glance up from his desk. All he said was (my paraphrase) "Look how long your list of prior offenses is! I don't care how good a person you really are. I think the law is fair. Next!"

The officer who took her away at least let everyone hold her for a time, let her say goodbye to her mother, and didn't put handcuffs on her. With her overnight bag, a shoebox, and her Bible, she turned and walked to the front of the room, behind a wall where the officer was waiting, and that was it.

We came home to an email from our pastor. His dear, sweet wife has cancer, and the doctors don't know where it's coming from, so they can't treat it.

So please pray with me. But not for me; I am hurting now, but this suffering is not mine. Pray that grace and love flood these circumstances, that I can somehow be a conduit.

Thanks for listening.