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Photo courtesy of the Cleveland Family
A Modern Story of Radical Trust
A New Book Chronicles a Woman’s Journey as Her Father Fights Imprisonment BY IMMACULÉE ILIBAGIZA
I
first met Kitty Cleveland in 2009 on a pilgrimage to Kibeho, Rwanda, where I was instantly captivated by her blessed singing voice and the unforgettable testimony about her father’s life and miracle. February 2025 | 63
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I’m so happy that she has finally decided to share it with the world in her new book, From Prison to Paradise: A Story of Radical Trust in God’s Divine Mercy. In the book, Kitty describes how her father, Deacon Carl Cleveland, was sentenced to ten years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. His family watches him grapple with the trauma of losing everything he held dear—his family, law practice, ministry, financial security, good reputation, and physical freedom. Kitty then allows her father to tell his own riveting story through his monthly letters from prison. These letters are a treasure, filled with humor, heartache, surprises, deep faith, and ultimately hope in God’s merciful plan for each one of us, even when it seems that all is lost.
The Gift of Surrender. One
of the many things that inspired me was the way the Scripture passage 2 Corinthians 12:9 kept prophetically showing up in Deacon Carl’s life: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” Before prison, Deacon Carl had been a successful trial lawyer, the one used to being responsible for everyone else’s well-being, being everyone else’s savior. Weakness was something he rejected. Now that he was in a position of complete and utter dependence upon the mercy of God, he learned that it was only
in Christ that he was truly strong. In fact, when he acknowledged that he was not in control of the final outcome of his case and decided to rest in God’s presence through prayer, he actually came to embrace the less-is-more paradox of life in prison. As he surrendered daily to God’s permissive will (the reality of his unjust imprisonment), he was able to find “the peace of God that surpasses all understanding,” even in the midst of hell (Philippians 4:7).
Finding Peace. This resonated
with me. During the Rwandan genocide, when as a Tutsi I was hunted by my former friends and neighbors and forced into hiding for three months, the only way I found peace was by immersing myself in the Bible and by praying the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet, from the moment I woke up till I fell asleep. The grace of God during this time in deep prayer helped me to accept my situation, love others, and truly forgive my offenders—even as I learned that most of my family and friends, along with a million of my fellow countrymen, had been brutally murdered in the span of one hundred days. No matter how horrific the circumstances of life can be, we can still live at peace if we surrender our will to God and trust in his care for us.
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Acknowledging that
G r a c e f ro m G o d f o r Whatever Comes. Kitty
shares another story about radical trust in God that also touched me deeply. After her family had been waiting eighteen months for her father’s appeal to finally be heard, Kitty dropped in on her mom to see how she was doing. She found her in the kitchen, where she looked completely terrified. “If we lose the appeal, Kitty, I’m not going to make it,” she confessed. “I can’t keep living like this!” The uncertain future, the financial instability, the long drives back and forth to prison,
he could not control the outcome of his case, Deacon Carl decided to rest in God's presence through prayer. the endless waiting, and the toll it had taken on the mental, emotional, and physical health of each member of the family—she just couldn’t do it anymore. The thought of another seven or eight years of this anguish was too much to bear. And then a special gift was given to Kitty, an insight she says did not come from her. “Mom, we don’t have the grace for that yet,” she said emphatically. “We can’t project ourselves into the future, February 2025 | 65
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imagining every horrible thing that could possibly happen to us before we have the grace for it. If we do, we’ll be paralyzed with fear and anxiety—and it’s not even real!” They both agreed that they would just have to trust that God would give them the grace for whatever came, and only when they needed it. He would take care of them as he had every day until then, like only the best of fathers can do. When Kitty’s father lost the appeal a couple of weeks later, they were devastated and heartbroken—but they had the grace they needed to keep faith, hope, and love alive for the long haul. This is what the grace of God does for us. When I was finally able to come out of hiding in Rwanda, stepping around bodies to get to safety, a supernatural grace was also given to me—a grace that protected my mind from insanity and kept my faith alive in unthinkable circumstances. God can do this for you, too.
Hope in God's Love. Just
as I was left to tell my story about the power of prayer and forgiveness when confronted with evil, so Kitty has been called to tell this story about her father’s spiritual transformation in the midst of great suffering. In addition to witnessing her father’s surrender to God’s unpredictable plan for his life, we watch Kitty embark on her
own journey of surrender and trust, leading to a far-reaching ministry of healing and encouragement through her beautiful music and storytelling. These stories give us hope that God is working all things for good for those of us who love him and are called according to his purpose (see Romans 8:28). His grace truly is enough. If you have ever struggled to make sense of suffering to forgive, or to renew your faith, this book has something for you. Like my own ministry and all other works inspired by God, it was born from the cross. I pray it brings you healing, hope, and confidence in God’s merciful, personal love for you, especially during times of adversity. n
Kitty Cleveland's new book, Prison to Paradise: A Story of Radical Trust in God's Divine Mercy, is now available from bookstore.wau.org. Immaculée Ilibagiza is the author of the New York Times bestseller Left to Tell: Discovering God amidst the Rwandan Holocaust.
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