Grateful for Grace
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Grateful for Grace
"OH CRAP!!!!"
My dog at this point was getting WAY too close to the "OUT OF BOUNDS" fence line.
“Finnnnn…… COME!!!!”
About 50 yards away, my furry friend with big black floppy ears hears my recall command… and takes off sprinting toward me at full speed.
When The Fantastic Mr. Finn gets about two feet from my right leg, he suddenly stops… drops into a perfect sit… and starts wagging his tail like crazy.
“Good boy, buddy… thanks for listening, big guy.”
Finn flashes that big, bright smile back at me like he knows exactly what he just did.
This one-of-a-kind dog truly has a servant’s heart… and I’m honored—truly honored—to be part of his superhero service dog story.
Watching this special pup sprint across the prison yard, his long half-pink, half-black tongue hanging out the side of his mouth…
It does something to me.
It fills my heart with a kind of gratitude I never knew existed.
Because the truth is…
The fact that a broken man like me—
a man with a past,
a man who once felt suffocated by his own shame—
has been given the opportunity of a lifetime…
to become a certified service dog trainer…
while serving a prison sentence???
I mean… COME ON.
If that’s not a living, breathing example of God’s grace, mercy, and love… I don’t know what is.
One of the most beautiful lessons I’ve learned in this harsh and often chaotic place is this:
GOD’S LOVE ALWAYS WINS.
Prison tried to chain me to my past.
Tried to define me by my worst decisions.
Tried to convince me that this was the end of my story.
BUT…
The unconditional love I’ve received—from my family, from my friends, and even from my barbed wire brothers—
has set me free in a way I never thought was possible.
It brought me back to myself.
So no…
I don’t see my story as one of punishment anymore.
If anything, from where I’m standing…
this season feels like proof.
Proof that Jesus doesn’t abandon His children.
Proof that He meets us in our mess.
Proof that He welcomes us back home with open arms—no matter how far we’ve fallen.
Believe it or not…
I’m actually grateful for this time.
Because the shame and pain that once controlled my life…
has been completely shattered by the grace of God.
And I will never be the same because of it.
There aren’t enough words in the world to fully describe the gratitude I feel in my soul every single day.
But I can tell you this…
I am one blessed man—
even behind razor-sharp barbed wire.
Love you all so much,
Brett
(A man who knows ONLY the love of Jesus can shatter the shadow of shame forever)
A Note From Noél
The man I love with all my heart has somehow found a heavenly peace inside a place built to punish.
And I can’t help but sit in awe of that.
Because only a GRACE-FILLED GOD could take the piercing pain of a long prison sentence…
and transform it into something healing.
Something purposeful.
Something sacred.
Every prison story Brett shares feels like living proof—
proof of just how far God’s love will reach for His children.
Because yes…
Punishment can try to chain us to the pain and shame of our past.
BUT…
Our Heavenly Father does something completely different.
He draws near.
He wraps us up in His love.
And He gently sets our souls free.
Love doesn’t condemn… it restores.
And it shatters shame—every single time.
“Lord Jesus, thank you for always loving us back to who we truly are. Thank you for bringing the peace of Your Spirit into Brett’s cement prison cell. You are our hiding place in the middle of this storm. We take refuge in Your love—now and forever.”
The Bartletts are living, breathing proof that even in the hardest, most unexpected places…
LOVE STILL WINS.
And it always will.
With so much love,
Noél
(A woman learning to lead with love—no matter the circumstance)
