A Follow Up on Dennis Jasso's Story

Some articles are harder to write than others. This one may be the hardest. Some of you may know the story of Dennis Jasso from our 2009 year-end newsletter. For those of you who don't, Dennis is a man who was charged in 2008 with possession of child porn and has been plugged into our ministry (& Shadow of His Wings) for recovery help ever since. 

In late November '09, Dennis was sentenced to 8 years, 4 months in a federal prison. He starts serving that sentence on January 15, 2010, thus beginning the next chapter of his recovery. It will be a difficult chapter for him to write, but with the foundation of healing and growth he has laid to this point, we are confident that a whole new man will emerge from this painful circumstance.

As I think of Dennis, I also think of you and me, about our "next chapters" in life and growth. How will you respond when a difficult chapter is opened before you? What about the challenge to write a new legacy out of past trauma, abuse, or sin? Maybe we can all band together and encourage one another to pen these chapters with grace and grit.

I have been impacted immeasurably by one very significant, and powerful, characteristic from Dennis' life during this whole ordeal: hope. Dennis' situation was bad. He slid down the deceptive, slippery slope of sexual lust and found himself neck deep in sins even he never imagined would be part of his history. The consequences for such actions were severe, and not just legally. Losses abounded. His marriage ended, friendships dissolved, unemployment came abruptly, and his dreams were over. But God's dreams for Dennis were only beginning.

When Dennis attended our Gateway to Freedom workshop, God began to do a powerful work of transformation in his broken life. It was then that the new chapter of true life was being written, and the energy that kept the ink flowing was hope. I have seen the change in Dennis, the smile, the sparkle in his eyes, the passion for his Creator. These are not characteristics that should be present in a man in his circumstance. Yet, he marches on in hope, knowing that he is no longer defined by his circumstance, but rather by His Redeemer who paid the full price for one Dennis Joseph Jasso.

God also paid that price for you and me, and He longs to guide each of us through every chapter of life, whether a soaring crescendo of adventure and bliss, or a dark, quiet agony of broken relationships or lost dreams. The key to successfully writing each chapter is to know that whatever the circumstance, we have hope in God, we have a future that is bright, unstained, beautiful, and everlasting. We can face the dark, painful chapters here because we know that God has written the FINAL chapter in eternity. May we cling to such hope when all around us is saying life is over.

Dennis' circumstances will be regimented and routine for the next 8 years. He will not be free to travel or engage in activities you and I take for granted every day. He will not be free to work, to shop, to eat at McDonald's, or have a quiet moment alone. Those looking from the outside will see a man who is locked up and imprisoned. But that is merely his circumstance. His reality is that he is freer today than he ever was in his past.

Pray with us for Dennis. Pray also for yourselves, asking the question, "Is the chapter of my life I'm writing right now marked by hope and freedom?" If your answer is no, take a moment to peer through the steel bars at a man who knows what true freedom is all about.

Dennis, we love you. May this chapter of your life be the one that resonates loudest in the halls of eternity...

If you would like to write to Dennis, please contact our ministry at letterstodennis@bebroken.com and we will provide his mailing address.

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