199: Incarceration, Marriage, and God's Redemption with Fox and Rob Richardson
Fox and Rob Richardson experienced being separated by incarceration for 21 years. They come on the podcast today to share about their experience, what God did in the midst of it, and how we as the Church are to be the hands and feet of Christ in the face of injustice and oppression. May you come away from this episode inspired to make a difference. WHAT WE CHAT ABOUT ON THIS EPISODE: ~Fox and Rob’s documentary, Time, and book, Time: The Untold Story of the Love that Held Us Together When Incarceration Kept Us Apart, and what you can expect from them; what led them to produce these resources ~How Fox and Rob met, and what their journey of marriage has been like ~What led to the day when the Richardsons robbed a bank; the desperation that resulted in this decision ~How being incarcerated for 21 years for the offense of robbing a bank reveals the injustice within the criminal justice system, the problem of mass incarceration, and the racism which does still exist in the justice system ~The importance of listening to other peoples’ stories and experiences ~Stories from Scripture of affliction and how God saw people through ~How our hard seasons take us from knowing “about” God to truly knowing God Himself ~God’s sovereignty and sufficiency even in our hard seasons ~The importance of understanding that we cannot afford to take our eyes off God ~Trusting the process as we remember that God is sufficient ~The slavery that exists in the criminal justice system ~How leaving prison is like going from slavery to sharecropping ~The modern day taxation without representation that is faced by the victims of mass incarceration ~Rich Family Ministries and the Richardson’s family mission to be free and free others ~Seeking to better America and make it what it can be; seeking alternatives to mass incarceration ~The role of God’s people to say “not on my watch” when injustice and oppression exist ~What we as everyday lay people can do to seek to make a difference in the system ~The power of bearing witness, being in proximity, and looking injustice in the face so that your heart and spirit will be quickened and you will seek to be used of God to be of service in that area ~Rob’s experience in what is known as “America’s Bloodiest Penitentiary” and what enabled him to get through with strength ~What this journey was like for Fox having to solo parent, homeschool, provide for her family, and support and encourage her husband during this 21 year journey ~Tapping into the strength God gives us ~And much more! For full shownotes, head to www.hargraveshomeandhearth.com/podcast