Courageous Heart

One light fixed in the darkness

One heart calling me to give mine

– from the song, “Courageous Heart” by Dan Cunningham

Susan Burton’s whole life is an illustration of Grace Turned Outward, but on a big scale. After circling back into prison six times because she had no idea or opportunity for any other life, by grace alone, God brought her out of that toxic environment to where resources were available for her to change. She not only received those opportunities and acted on them, she turned around and immediately set upon a course to make those same resources available to other women coming out of prison like her with nowhere to go. In fact most of her first guests were her friends from prison. Now her organization, A New Way of Life (ANWOL), has transitioned over 1,200 women out of the prison system through 10 homes in the Los Angeles area, and into jobs and contributing roles in society. These are surely not criminals; they are simply women who never had a chance. Give them a chance, and look out!

The criminal justice system is founded on punitive measures that tear children from their mothers. ANWOL provided LaTanya Reed with a stable and caring environment to rebuild her life and gain custody of her children. “My kids are my oxygen, without them, I can’t breathe.”

It takes $70,000 a year to keep a woman in prison. It takes half of that for one of them to go through Susan’s re-entry program, and 94% of them never return to prison. It doesn’t take rocket science to figure out that the penal system is not solving the systemic problem. All it took was one woman to turn that around. One woman, and Grace Turned Outward.

This woman is incredible, but not beyond the scope of what anyone can do if they turn grace outward and follow the hand of the Lord. Go to the website for A New Way of Life (ANWOL) and discover the scope of this work. Check out the staff. Read about the stories of changed lives. And imagine this program going into cities across the country because that is where this is headed.

On one hand it’s massive, but on the other it’s quite simple — take what happened to you by grace and make it available to others in the same way. Here at the Catch we call that Grace Turned Outward.

Following is a song you might enjoy we’d like to dedicate to Susan. It was originally written for the work of Women of Vision, but it is so appropriate to Susan I wanted to share it with you. Click on the title to hear the song.

And don’t forget to join us on BlogTalkRadio tonight for our live interview with Susan. You will also be able to listen to it any time at the same link as a podcast.

Courageous Heart

words and music by Dan Cunningham

Sometimes when its dark and I’m finding my way,

Seeking one sure star I can follow

One light fixed in the darkness

One heart calling me to give mine

And the sound and the dust of the day

All fade in the light of one passion

Calling for one moment of justice,

For one moment of mercy for the touch of His hand

I will arise for you, I will answer,

Answer your courageous heart