Paying a Debt--One Tomato at a Time

This past weekend, on both Saturday and Sunday mornings, I joined a group of roughly ten other Calvin Prison Initiative (CPI) student prisoners to begin working on this year's donation garden. Last year, the prisoner students who participated donated hundreds of volunteer hours to grow vegetables that were then donated to a local battered women shelter. This simple, yet profound, act of charity benefited the at-risk women and children who ate the vegetables and the men who worked hard to give back to a class of people who, in many cases, represent their victims. Opportunities in prison to give back, to make amends in simple ways, for the wrongs prisoners have committed are few and far between.

Last year was the first year CPI students planted and maintained this garden, and getting approval and administrative support to do so was challenging. Top levels of the prison administration strongly supported the prisoners volunteering to give back in this way, but as great as the idea is, some prison guards opposed it. Since the guards are responsible for overseeing the tools, some would refuse to allow those who worked the garden to check out tools, meaning much of the work was done, literally, by hand. Weeds were loosened with plastic sporks purchased from store, and water was lugged to the garden one five-gallon bucket at a time. That's a lot of lugging for a garden that was over 2,200 square feet! Maybe this year we'll have more support from prison staff.

This year, we're expanding the garden, doubling its size, the result of which we hope will mean a broader reach with the donated yield. We're not likely to ever meet the people who will benefit from our labor, but we gladly work to bless them anyway. Yes, it is an opportunity for physical exercise, to get outdoors, and for many of us the chance to do something we love. But, more so, it is the chance for us to do something tangible to make right the harms we've done. We can't always make amends directly to our victims, but sometimes making amends to other people who have experienced harm at the hands of others is the best we can do for now.

This year, as I plant seeds, pull weeds, haul water, and harvest vegetables, I will do so with the intention of making amends. As I work, I'll pray for safety and healing for the victims of domestic violence who will eat the vegetables, and I'll pray for healing and peace for those who I harmed by my crime. I know this simple act of service pales compared to the debt I owe, but it is just one of many simple things I am able to do with the intention of making things right.