TLDR: I read Chris Wilson’s A Master Plan and it inspired me to work harder and more faithfully.

This is a blog about a book by a man who was the speaker at a Lord of the Streets dinner a year and a half ago. As I noted in my last blog, this is not a book about politics. There are opinions that I disagree with in the book, and words that I try not to use in my vocabulary that are present in this book. If I am honest, there are opinions in Rev. Dr. Levenson’s book that I do not agree with, however, I recommend that book to all of you. Still, I think it is a valuable read because it gives another perspective on how to live with focus and faith.

 When I first saw Chris Wilson, I would not have guessed that he was a former inmate, much less someone who committed murder. We were, however, at the Lord of the Streets Luncheon, so I thought perhaps he knew something about being unhoused. If you read Mr. Wilson’s book you will see that he does know about transitory living. What he also knows about is what the cost of a mistake can be when it is made seriously. This is what made the book different from me: Mr. Wilson takes full responsibility for his actions and shows remorse. There are plenty of people who acknowledge that there was a mistake made in their life.

“Remorse isn’t feeling bad about what you have done. It’s not “accepting responsibility.” I had done that years before. Remorse is bigger. It is acknowledging that you did something irrevocably wrong, followed by the overwhelming feeling that you need to dedicate your life to making up for that sin.”^[1]

It is a rare few people who acknowledge the full ramifications of that mistake and begin to turn their life around. Mr. Wilson not only turned his life around, he also dedicated his life to ensuring that others were able to better their own circumstances. His selflessness helped our society and I hope it is continuing to do so.

If you choose to read the book by Mr. Wilson, you will see that the first part of his life consisted of a great deal of tragedy, some lack of responsibility, and some moments of hope. In my experience, every life has moments of hope. Mr. Wilson shows that those moments of hope need to outweigh the difficult circumstances of someone’s childhood. The hardest part to read for me was when Mr. Wilson ended up in jail and his sister told them that she could not help him any longer. I have two brothers and cannot imagine the pain of being unable to help them financially. This also seemed to be the time that he began to stand on his own feet.

Mr. Wilson mentions his faith and his prayer routine as catalyst for change in his life. I think once he began to see that there was a higher power, he was able to shift his focus to a broader one: education and jobs for others. Reading Wilson’s book felt as though I was peeking into a life restored. At this time of year, when the weather can be bleak, and Lent is less than a month away: it is good to think about what needs to be restored. We are at the end of the month of January and those New Year’s resolutions are probably feeling stale. I propose that what we need in our life is more faith and grit. Perhaps we may begin by reading Mr. Wilson’s A Master Plan.

For His Sake,

Mtr. Beth Anne +

^[1] Wilson, C. (2019). The Master Plan. New York: G.P. Putnam Sons.