Hope Is A Good Thing...

The news felt like the most beautiful, perfect dream interrupting the most terrible of nightmares. On Tuesday, October 9th, my case manager announced my name over the prison PA system summoning me for a meeting. I made the walk across the yard to his office and sat down. As the words came out of his mouth my entire world slipped into slow motion-surely what he was telling me wasn't for real. 

"Congratulations Mr. Stephens, you have been accepted to the halfway house." And just like that, almost as quickly as it all began-my time in prison was over.

I hurried to the pay phone and dialed up the numbers that lead me to Sallie. Seconds later she was on the other end listening to the news. Fittingly enough, she was with one of our dearest friends, Debbie (Huber) Jones who've we've known since middle school. Debbie, her husband Mike, his brother Garrett and his wife Stacy, have been been right there since this began and so supportive of our family throughout this whole ordeal-so it was so perfect for one of them to be with Sallie as I passed on the news. Sallie's response summed it all up, "finally, it's over."

My fellow inmates were all excited to hear the news as well. But the fact is, it can be awkward to be leaving when so many of my friends remain. Almost every one of the other members of our fire team are waiting for any word on their future status. As it stands right now, 6 of the 20 members of our team are leaving in the next month. 13 of the other 14 are waiting on news. Every one of our cases is unique and there are many factors that will determine what happens next for everyone.

The next morning, October 10th, which happened to be Sallie's and my anniversary, I received word that I was leaving the following Tuesday. We were expecting a 6-8 week wait-it turned out to only be 6 days. The whole process of trying to get into the halfway house was miraculous-God's hand was visible at every step in the process-we are so grateful. What it really means is that by the time you are all reading this post, I'll be out of prison-and living within ten miles of my family. I'll be able to go back to work, attend church and hopefully within 90 days-I'll move back home permanently.

Stokey and I took our last run together this morning-I couldn't help but feel a little sentimental as we jogged our six miles one last time. It's so hard to properly portray what Stokey's friendship has done for me-it's safe to say that without his help, I would not have made the SWIFT team-and if I didn't make the team, there's no telling how everything ends up working out. Ironically enough, Stokey is applying to the same halfway house as me. Because everyone's situations are different, some take longer than mine. I hope his is not too long. 

Our last run together was just like our first-in a snowstorm. There was a time, about seven months ago, where I hated everything about running on that track with him. But as we jogged, I knew that I would miss working out on that dirt track-high in the mountains above Rifle, Colorado. It was on this track that I conditioned my body to withstand the rigors of firefighting. I'll never forget the blood, sweat and tears (now) that I shed on that track to make my time in prison pass quicker. 

As we finished our run, there were seven new guys standing there getting ready to run. I realized they were there to train for my spot on SWIFT. Stokey and Cheapshot told me to be the pacer for them. I looked at these seven new guys and I couldn't help but reflect back to the days when I was running, or trying to run that mile and a half in 12:00 minutes. I failed so many times, and when I did qualify it was by 1 second! As I paced these new recruits around the track it was absolutely impossible to hold back the tears - what stories the dirt on that track could tell... 

One of the more interesting points about leaving Rifle will be that over a two day period I will travel back through the same  facilities that I was housed in on the way here-even the really scary ones. The way the Colorado Department of Corrections transportation works is similar to a subway line-and Rifle is at the end of the line. So I will ride buses and vans back through the system until I arrive back in the Denver Metro area. Once I'm there the halfway house will come and pick me up. 

For those of you familiar with the Denver area, I'll be located near the Broncos practice facility in Dove Valley. That's only about one mile or two from our Spartan office and about 10 miles from my house. The halfway house is meant to help prisons transition back into "real life" after incarceration. Depending on how they handle the transition, it is possible to leave the house after a minimum of 90 days so I've heard and then move into you own place. As I mentioned, I'll be able to spend much more time with my family (sports, church, etc.) but will have to sleep at the halfway house every night-but will be able to earn leisure time and weekend passes. But "prison" as I know it, is over-265 days were more than enough for me.

I fully intend to continue to write on the blog. From what I've heard about the halfway house environment, I'll have plenty of stories to write about. As it stands right now, I've got another 10 months before I'm eligible for parole-so as far as the State of Colorado is concerned, prisoner #179321 is still on the active roster.

Sallie and I are overwhelmed with emotion. We felt at times like this day may never come-there were no guarantees. I wish that I could say that I never doubted that my Heavenly Father cared about our situation. There were some very, very dark days-even as late as last week, I was left wondering if any of our prayers were being heard. I know better than that-I could write pages and pages about the blessings that we've received over the past three years. That's the tricky part about faith, when we aren't getting what we are asking and hoping for, it overshadows all the good that is surrounding and carrying us during our trials. I never noticed all the blessings pouring over me, until well after the fact-something I need to get better at.  

To quote one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite movies (that now means even more because it's from the Shawshank Redemption). 

"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies."

I hope the lights of Denver are as beautiful as I remember them. I hope that I am returning there as a better man. I hope I never forget everything I have learned. I hope I always remember to be humble. I hope I always remember to be "tough as hell and kind as Christ". I hope I'll never forget everything God has done for me. I hope I'll never forget how amazing my wife and kids are. I hope I'll always be grateful for such great friends and to be one back. I hope steak is as good as I remember it. I hope my dog Zeus remembers me. 

And so began the next chapter of our lives....

Brandon Stephens, Weld County Jail, Wood Group, Sentenced, 5 Years, Prison, NFL, DRDC, Rifle Correctional Center, Colorado Department of Corrections, Jail, Judge Quammen, Steve Wrenn, Weld County, Executive, Oil, Gas, White Collar, Wood, BYU, Masters Degree, Colorado State University, SWIFT, Firefighter, Wildland, Sawyer, Fire, Inmate, Brandon Stokey, Miracles, Centennial Community Correctional Center, Delta Correctional Center, DRDC, Denver Diagnostic and Reception Center, Felony, Sallie Stephens, Greeley Tribune, Judge Thomas Quammen, DA Steve Wrenn, Weld County Court, Oil & Gas,. Halfway House, Centennial Community Correction Center, CCTC