Worst Weaknesses Turned Into Strongest Strengths
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-Worst Weaknesses Turned Into Strongest Strengths-
Correctional Officer: “That’s the second time tonight your dog pissed on my walkway.”
Me: “I’m sorry, sir. I will come back and clean all of it up. I promise.”
Correctional Officer: “Does that mean I’m going to be walking in frozen piss all night long?”
Me: “No sir, I will make sure to get everything cleaned up before it freezes out here. Sorry again. We will do better in the future.”
Well… on Finn’s first night in federal prison, he unfortunately failed to make it all the way to the “potty yard” two times in a row.
Even more unfortunate for me, he decided to stop and pee EXACTLY WHERE THE GUARDS STAND DURING OUR CONTROLLED TEN-MINUTE MOVES.
I’m gonna be honest — this is not the greatest start to our 8-month prison journey together.
That’s okay though. We’ve got plenty of time to figure it all out. Mistakes make us better and mold our fighting spirit.
I WILL NEVER GIVE UP ON YOU MR. FINN.
WE GOT THIS!!!
Look, training a 16-week-old puppy in prison is NOT easy, but it’s 100% worth it.
The Fantastic Mr. Finn is destined to become a service dog for a family in desperate need of a miracle. I’m privileged and blessed to be Finn’s prison puppy trainer and prepare him for greatness.
Our prison journey together will be tough and filled with daily obstacles. But Finn and I will find a way around, under, over, or through every brutal boulder put in front of us.
Mr. Finn, I need you to listen to me right now:
The world is going to tell you WHAT YOU CAN’T DO.
But my job is to PROVE WHAT YOU CAN DO!!!
I got you, buddy.
Finn, I can already see your unique and beautiful superpowers. I’m honored and excited to spend the next 8 months with you, sir.
I might be crazy, but I personally believe that Finn and I were meant for one another. This young guy is ANOTHER LEVEL OF HIGH ENERGY.
On a scale of 1 to 10… he is an 84. Hahahahaha.
I’m talking next-level type of energy.
Just imagine a kangaroo, a dog, and a squirrel had a baby… THAT is my new friend Finn.
He actually reminds me a lot of “Stitch” from the Disney classic Lilo & Stitch.
Every time Finn looks up at me with his big bulging eyes, I hear Stitch’s raspy voice in my head. I’m constantly smiling during our training sessions.
I don’t think it’s an “accident or coincidence” that Finn became my prison puppy. He is drastically behind in his training and skills. Finn is scoring way below his puppy pals in the dog hallway on his initial assessment. All the other trainers are already saying he is a lost cause.
Finn is the literal definition of an underdog.
It’s crystal clear that Finn’s previous trainer failed to put in the time to prepare him for success.
Don’t worry Finn, I got you!!!
My buddy Conrad prepared me for you.
We are about to prove ourselves right — and all the highly skeptical prisoners in our hallway wrong.
Finn and I are about to show how someone’s “Worst Weakness” can be transformed into their “Strongest Strength.”
Examples:
[Finn’s Worst Weakness]
He is super high-energy and gets distracted way too easily.
TRANSFORMED INTO…
[Finn’s Future Strongest Strength]
Perfect — he will be able to channel all that high energy and outlast any other dog during training sessions.
[Finn’s Worst Weakness]
He wants to spend all his free time smelling and sniffing EVERYTHING around him.
TRANSFORMED INTO…
[Finn’s Future Strongest Strength]
He is showing all the initial signs of becoming a prestigious diabetic-detection dog.
Instead of “punishing” him for smelling and sniffing, I will direct that gift into appropriate service-dog behaviors that could bless a person with Type 1 diabetes.
[Finn’s Worst Weakness]
He is NOT very food-motivated and wants attention from every person on planet earth.
TRANSFORMED INTO…
[Finn’s Future Strongest Strength]
I actually love that Finn is motivated beyond food. Now I can use an unlimited supply of love, attention, and affection to train him throughout the day. This gives him the greatest chance of becoming an amazing service dog for a family hoping and praying for a breakthrough.
[Finn’s Worst Weakness]
He is currently way behind all his fellow puppy classmates, and it will be difficult to catch him up on every skill and behavior within an 8-month timeframe.
TRANSFORMED INTO…
[Finn’s Strongest Strength]
Finn starting behind everyone else will make graduation day that much sweeter.
We are ready to WORK & EARN this path to greatness. His work ethic will shine because he had to overcome so much in a shorter amount of time.
Mark my words…
Finn’s “Worst Weaknesses” are about to blossom into his “Strongest Strengths.”
I LOVE IT!!!
Hopefully my prison puppy trainer journey is proof that God can turn any mess into a miracle.
“Thank you Lord Jesus for The Fantastic Mr. Finn. His sweet soul is such a blessing in the deep dark pit of prison.”
“Thank you Jesus for the continued strength and endurance to face the fangs of fear and adversity.”
“Thank you Lord Jesus for transforming me into a prison puppy trainer and giving me a second chance at life.”
“I’m blessed and so beyond grateful for your goodness, God.”
This prison journey has taught me that people — the world — will always go out of their way to remind you of your “worst weaknesses.”
But this brutal and painful time in prison has ALSO taught me that God can transform someone’s worst weaknesses into their strongest strengths.
My criminal conviction and incarceration were supposed to become The Bartletts’ “worst weakness.”
The piercing pain and shame of prison tried to rip Noél, Cambria, Willow, Lula, Zion, and me apart.
Now, this same brutal prison journey has become The Bartletts’ Strongest Strength.
As a family, we embraced the obstacle of confinement and found a way to thrive through it.
DO NOT LET THE WORLD TELL YOU WHO YOU ARE OR WHAT YOU WILL BECOME.
Our TRUE identity is in Jesus Christ.
He knows us by name and has a divine plan for our lives.
Seek Him when the world is collapsing around you and draw strength from His unconditional love and grace.
I just want to say THANK YOU again for allowing me to share my prison puppy trainer journey with all of you.
Yes, it’s true — my body is currently trapped behind a barbed wire fence.
But getting to write these letters and updates sets my mind free.
I’m truly thankful for the opportunity to memorialize this one-of-a-kind prison journey.
Love all of you,
Brett
(A man who had his “worst weaknesses” transformed into his “strongest strengths” behind a barbed wire fence.)
–A Note From Noél–
Ooooohhh Mr. Finn…
Something in me knows — deep in my soul — that you and Brett are about to walk through some life-changing adventures together behind that barbwire fence.
It overwhelms me sometimes, trying to imagine all the challenges my husband faces as “The Prison Puppy Trainer.” I mean… raising a baby puppy is hard enough in a normal, safe home — but in a freezing, cramped federal prison cell? That’s a whole different world. And yet Brett does it. He shows up. He pours all that love, all that discipline, all that purpose into these dogs because it keeps him alive.
Reading these letters… it’s the only window I have into his daily reality. And every time I read one, I feel both closer to him and painfully reminded of how far away he is.
Uggghhhh… I miss my husband so much it physically hurts. I can’t wait for the day he is finally home holding me again.
Finn, sweet boy…
Cambria, Willow, Lula, Zion, and I already adore you.
We believe in you.
And we’re so grateful Brett gets to train you.
Because my husband — even in a place designed to break men — will fight for the ones he loves. He will protect you, guide you, and love you through every single hard day. Just like he does for us.
One thing I absolutely loved about this letter is Brett’s overwhelming optimism.
It’s a whole superpower of its own.
Anyone who has ever spent even a few minutes with Brett knows exactly what I mean. He carries this unshakeable, contagious hope. He makes you believe you can do anything. He lifts people. He breathes life into them. It’s contagious in the best way. If you ever want to feel special or capable or seen, go grab a cup of coffee with him when he’s home… he will make you believe you can conquer the world. His constant optimism is truly infectious.
But here’s the crazy surreal part to that…
I remember the Brett from a few years back — the one trapped under shame, fear, and unbearable pressure.
I remember watching the light drain from his eyes.
I remember begging God to give me my husband back.
And now… through these letters… through these puppies… through this purpose God handed him in the darkest place imaginable…
My husband is back in full force.
The fighter. The dreamer. The protector. The man whose heart refuses to quit. And when Brett is aligned with God and fueled by purpose, he becomes absolutely unstoppable. He will not rest until the impossible becomes possible. I am so deeply PROUD of him, and I love him with every fiber of my being.
After sixteen years of marriage, I can honestly say:
Prison — as much as I HATE IT — is forging Brett into a stronger, wiser, softer, more grounded man.
And trust me, I will continue screaming this from the rooftops:
I HATE PRISON.
My husband is thousands of miles away from me, from our babies, from our life. And for what? Brett will never be caught dead even jaywalking again. The man is SCARED STRAIGHT, people.
Yet our tax dollars are being used to warehouse him in a high-security institution with rapists, and child predators.
It truly makes me sick.
I mean COME ON.
Put him on home confinement forever. Garnish every penny he ever earns. Take it all — just give my kids their father back.
THE END.
Okay… rant over. Sorry about that, don't worry I’m breathing again. 😉
Look, even though I will NEVER agree with Brett’s 15-year sentence, I’m deeply grateful — truly — that God met him behind those bars. That God used the ashes of his life to build something beautiful. That He turned Brett’s “worst weakness” into his “strongest strength.”
I also always want to be honest here… this prison journey has been brutal on our entire family. Brutal.
But the Bartletts are slowly finding a way to thrive in the middle of the adversity and give glory to God through every painful twist and turn.
This prison journey hasn’t just hurt us… it has changed us.
And in this painful unraveling, God is faithfully reconstructing us — piece by piece — because we keep handing Him everything we know we can no longer carry.
We are not the same family we were 9 months ago.
We are stronger.
We are softer.
We are more rooted in Him.
We want our story — our heartbreak, our resilience, our faith — to show the world that WITH GOD, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.
We will continue to push, pray, cry, fight, and PRAISE our way through this season.
Because even in our deepest pain, God has never left us.
“Thank you, Jesus, for filling our weary bones with Your Holy Spirit.
Thank you for carrying us when we cannot carry ourselves.
Thank you for transforming suffering into strength.”
Our brokenness — the very thing that was supposed to destroy us — has now become the Bartlett family’s Strongest Strength.
Love,
Noél (A wife determined to turn every obstacle into an opportunity)
P.S. If someone you know is walking through trials or heartbreak, feel free to share these letters with them. We want our prison journey to have purpose. People need to know that joy, peace, and hope are absolutely available — even when the pain is piercing. God will ALWAYS turn our mess into a miracle if we surrender it to Him.
