Sherine Leslie-Gordon knows what it feels like to be locked up in a jail cell as an innocent person. During that period in her life, she leaned on the only rock that could anchor her safely through all that was happening around her.
It all unfolded on January 27, 2017 while at work. Her world was shattered when the police swooped down and arrested her.
She recalls feeling fear and fielding many unanswered questions in her mind with the number one query, “Why me, Lord?”
“I was detained at the police station jail for seven days. I was held for questioning by the police because it was alleged that I was committing fraud at work. Everything happened so fast. The officers took me to my home, where they searched for evidence. I was taken to jail, where I spent one week sleeping on concrete with a newspaper as my sheet. I felt like I was about to lose my mind,” she shared with Freedom Come Rain.
According to Leslie-Gordon, that week felt like her whole world was shut down and God was silent. She could even imagine what Job must have felt when everything was taken from him. She admits to trying to come to terms with the fact that she is a Christian and why God would allow that to face her.
“I was a person of integrity, so how did this happen? Deep down in my spirit, I felt an assurance that God was going to take me through that traumatic experience. My faith kept me going. I had to rely on God for strength, and I was trying to be strong for the others who were in the same situation as I was. As the week progressed—still in jail and as broken as I was—I had to lean into the Lord for strength and comfort. Even with the fear and doubt running through my mind, I started to gain strength as I meditated and read the Word of God,” she shared.
Two things gave her comfort during her ordeal: Roman 8:28 and Travis Greene’s song “You Made a Way.”
Still, she confessed to wondering how it would all work out for her. While in jail, she read the entire book of Job within a day as she started to see her situation as Job’s.
“Just like Job. I stood on the fact that God gave Job double for his trouble, and He would do the same for me. Even though what I was seeing on the surface didn’t look pretty at all, I was reminded by 2 Corinthians 5:7 that we walk by faith and not by sight, and Romans 8:28 that all things work together for good.”
Leslie-Gordon noted that it was the worst week of her entire life and likens it to hell. Still, it didn’t stop her from sending praise to God. She utilised her time in jail by having prayer meetings with the other incarcerated women, singing songs, reading the Bible, and playing games at night to keep their minds at peace.
“I would find myself encouraging the other girls from the different cells in the prison and keeping prayer meetings with them. By doing so, I found encouragement for myself,” she informed.
The Friday of the week, she was arrested. She went to court and was granted bail; however, it was too late for the bail completion process.
She had to be taken to the Fort Augusta Adult Correctional Centre, which was located in Portmore, St. Catherine, at the time. It was another terrifying weekend for her, and she had to continue to rest in the promises of God’s Word, knowing that, despite how it may look, it was going to work out for her good.
“I don’t know how or when, but that was the word God placed in my spirit,” she recalled.
Upon her release, she had been reporting to the police station every Monday since February 6, 2017 until this requirement was lifted on March 17, 2022.
“I was really and truly grateful to God for that. God is faithful,” she stressed.
Leslie-Gooden has not seen the ultimate breakthrough as yet, as since then, she has been placed on interdiction with just a quarter of her salary and has been back and forth to court for over eight years, with the case being constantly put off for some reason or another.
“Despite being delayed, I know I am not denied; I am waiting in expectation, knowing that the victory has already been won,” were her confident words.
Even while riding out her storm, Leslie-Gooden has encouraging words for those who may find themselves in similar situations. Her advice is for them to seek God with all their hearts and wait on Him. For her, God would not permit a storm if He didn’t place enough in you to go through it.
“Sometimes, unfortunate circumstances are allowed to build your character, mould you, and make you into the person God wants you to be. All that we have been through or are going through are testimonies that others are waiting on to be delivered from their circumstances. God is not bound by my situation; God wastes nothing, and there is purpose in my pain. God will take what the enemy meant for evil and turn it for your good,” were her sage words.
Instead of asking why, Lord, Leslie-Gooden said the question should be replaced with, what can I learn from this situation? Also, surround yourself with positive people, block out the negatives and naysayers, change your perspective about your situation, pursue your purpose, practice daily affirmation, and learn to encourage yourself.
The University of Technology past student is also a wife, mother, writer, and author, but most of all, she is a woman of God. She got the inspiration last year January to write a book about her experience, and the Lord gave her the title “Process for Purpose: Learning to Trust God’s Plan and Purpose in Your Season of Waiting.” She was also instructed to share her story with others to encourage, uplift, and bring hope.
“It was during these darkest seasons of feeling hopeless, disappointed, fearful, and discouraged, that I pushed myself to seek the Lord on a deeper level and learn more about trusting and waiting upon Him, even when I didn’t understand so that I could shift my focus from the situation to God and help others do the same,” she shared.
The author hopes the book will help others going through their darkest season and who are feeling discouraged as it seems no end is in sight to their suffering.
“This book consists of practical strategies that will help you embrace and endure your season of waiting, trust God, develop your faith and patience muscles, and learn to stay encouraged, hopeful, and motivated despite how long you have been waiting. Don’t allow your situation to define your life. Climb over that obstacle and continue moving forward,” she informed.
Leslie-Gooden, who attends Worship and Faith International Fellowship, Kingston Campus (WAFIF), is the team leader and one of the teachers for the children’s church ministry. She says her ultimate dream is to start a children’s charity to give back to the less fortunate children in society and to become a Christian life coach.