Love vs. “The Hole”
Ok… before you read Brett’s latest letter about “The Hole” and the young man who walked past his cell in an orange jumpsuit…
please allow me to take a second and show off some of these BEAUTIFUL lash and brow transformations I’ve been working on lately 🥹
I’m honestly still blown away every time I finish one of these appointments.
There’s just something so special about watching a woman look in the mirror and slowly start smiling at herself again.
Maybe that sounds dramatic… but I don’t know… in a season where life has felt so heavy, getting to help people feel beautiful, refreshed, confident, and cared for has brought so much unexpected joy into my heart.
And if I’m being real with you, this little business has become such an answer to prayer for our family.
Every appointment, every referral, every kind word—it’s helping me provide for Cambria, Willow, Lula, and Zion while Brett is away.
I’m working really hard to build my clientele so our family can finally find some stability after a very long and difficult year filled with so many ups and downs.
And truly… every bit of support means more than I could ever fully put into words.
So if you (or someone you know) has been thinking about getting a lash lift, Korean lash lift, lash tint, brow lamination, or brow tint… I would absolutely LOVE to take care of you 🤍
And the best part is… I come to you 😉
You can text me at 714-210-9014 for pricing or appointments.
Also… if you’re currently in your own season of struggle, I just want you to know:
I SEE YOU.
I HEAR YOU.
AND I LOVE YOU.
Please don’t give up.
Alright… enough about lashes for now 💛
Go read Brett’s newest letter and prepare your heart a little for this one.
It’s raw, emotional, and such a powerful reminder that even in the darkest places…
LOVE STILL WINS.
Love vs. “The Hole”
“CLEAR THE FUXXXXX HALLWAY AND RETURN TO YOUR CELLS RIGHT NOW!!!”
The second an aggravated correctional officer screams those words down our dog hallway…
every convicted criminal on the floor immediately knows what’s happening.
One of our fellow felons is about to be swallowed by “The Hole.”
Sure enough, just a few moments later, I look out through the narrow window of my concrete cell and see a young man—barely in his twenties—being marched across the compound by two linebacker-sized lieutenants.
His wrists are cuffed tight behind his back.
Head lowered.
Shoulders heavy.
Orange jumpsuit dragging slightly against the uneven pavement.
He looks exhausted.
Not physically…
spiritually.
As this hurting young man slowly shuffles past my cell, our eyes lock for just a brief moment…
but somehow, in that split second, we speak directly into one another’s souls without saying a single word.
I can feel it immediately.
The Sinister Shadow of Shame is suffocating this once hopeful young man and desperately trying to chain him to his past for the rest of his life.
And gosh…
there is so much I want to tell him.
He needs to know his Heavenly Father still LOVES and adores him.
He needs to know shame has NO authority over his life because of the blood of Jesus Christ.
He needs to know his story is NOT over.
He needs to know a purpose-driven path still waits for him outside these prison walls.
There is still light in his eyes.
I could see it.
I could feel it.
Buried underneath the hurt…
the fear…
the punishment…
there is still a son in there worth saving.
BUT…
before I can whisper a single syllable to this broken young man…
a giant rusted metal door suddenly SLAMS shut.
The sound echoes through the hallway like thunder.
And just like that…
“The Hole” officially swallows him whole.
Prison is a place built by humans to punish people with a complicated past.
And in my humble opinion…
this constant and unrelenting culture of punishment often pushes already hurting souls further and further away from their God-given purpose here on earth.
Now please hear me clearly…
I want to be VERY intentional every time I write one of these letters.
As a federal prisoner and convicted criminal…
I FULLY understand and AGREE there should absolutely be real consequences tied to a person’s poor decisions.
Actions matter.
Choices matter.
Victims matter.
BUT…
I also wholeheartedly believe something else:
ONLY LOVE can pull a person out of the messy mud of life and place them back onto their purpose-driven path.
Living day-to-day behind razor-sharp barbed wire has taught me something I will carry for the rest of my life:
ONLY the redeeming LOVE of Jesus Christ can truly return a person back to their true self.
Not punishment.
Not fear.
Not isolation.
LOVE.
And the beautiful part about Christ’s love is this:
Not even “The Hole” can stop Jesus from finding and loving on His cherished children.
Not steel doors.
Not handcuffs.
Not prison walls.
Not shame.
Nothing.
“Lord Jesus, thank You for finding me in the messy mud of life and LOVING me back to the person You always meant me to be. Even in a place built to punish, You continue to wrap Your adored sons in Your warm embrace. Thank You for never giving up on us. AMEN.”
Yes…
federal prison is a dark and disturbing place.
BUT…
the deeper the darkness gets around me…
the brighter the unconditional LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST shines.
LOVE ALWAYS WINS.
Sincerely,
Brett
(A grateful son of the Most High)
A Note From Noél
I’m not gonna lie…
trying to picture Brett’s day-to-day life inside a federal prison is still difficult for me sometimes.
I CAN’T picture the man I married sleeping inside a cold cement cell.
I CAN’T picture the father of my children standing in a loud, chaotic chow hall line surrounded by hundreds of other inmates.
I CAN’T picture my forever person walking out onto a potentially volatile prison yard every single day.
Honestly… some parts of this surreal season still don’t feel real to me.
BUT…
There is one thing I can picture with absolute clarity.
I can 100% picture Brett yearning for his barbed wire brothers to feel the grace-filled LOVE of their Father in Heaven.
Because for those of you who don’t personally know my husband…
that’s just who he is.
Brett has always been the type of person who deeply LOVES “his people” and genuinely wants the absolute best life possible for them.
Not surface-level care.
Not temporary kindness.
I’m talking about the kind of love that sits with people in their pain… believes in them when they can’t believe in themselves… and sees purpose in places everyone else overlooks.
I can personally testify to the endless love that pours out of this man.
For years, Brett has showered me, Cambria, Willow, Lula, and Zion with so much selfless love, encouragement, affection, and belief.
Even now… from behind razor-sharp barbed wire…
he still somehow finds ways to love us so well.
And one of the most beautiful things about Brett is this:
He has a unique God-given ability to look at a person and see all the untapped potential waiting to blossom beneath the surface.
Even when others only see mistakes…
or shame…
or brokenness…
Brett sees possibility.
He sees purpose.
He sees a son or daughter worthy of love.
It truly is one of the most beautiful gifts God has ever given him.
Now please hear me clearly…
I HATE the fact my forever person is currently behind razor-sharp barbed wire.
I hate the missed moments.
The empty side of the bed.
The ache in our children’s hearts.
The constant longing for our family to be together again.
BUT…
I also fully believe God sent Brett—a man who carries the heart of Jesus wherever he goes—into the pit of prison for a reason.
To remind forgotten men they are still worthy of love.
To show his fellow felons what unconditional grace feels like.
To sit in the messy mud of life with hurting people and help love them back to their true selves.
“Lord Jesus, thank You for transforming our complicated family story into a merciful masterpiece. Thank You for bringing purpose into this painful prison journey. Please continue to cover Brett and his barbed wire brothers with Your infinite and unconditional LOVE. Lord, let these hurting men know they are adored sons who are WORTHY of Your warm embrace. Continue healing what shame tried to destroy.”
I’m one grateful—and incredibly PROUD—prison wife over here…
because even in a place built to punish…
Brett is living proof that:
LOVE ALWAYS WINS!!!
With so much thankfulness,
Noél
(A wife who is beginning to see the full depth and reach of God’s love for His children)
