Fly

I sat in a dark cell, lined with cold metal bars that seemed to go on for miles. They ran from the ground up to the sky, passed where my vision reached. Each bar a different sin - and some repeated over and over... and over... and over. My wrists felt bound and swollen. And what is this heaviness I feel on my neck?

I cried out in anger, "Please, let me out! I can't be in here anymore; it's killing me!" I waited, and there was no reply. Once more I cried out, this time in fear. "Please don't let me die in here; I need You to help me get out." Again, no reply - just a faint echo of my voice bouncing off of each piece of cold metal that surrounded me.

My soul was dying. It felt like I was crumbling from the inside out and I didn't know how to stop it. I was covered in filth from the rot that was permeating the air. It filled my lungs, covered my hands. I could even taste it in my mouth - this gritty, bitter taste. There were piles and piles of messy, dirty things all around me.

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9

While waiting in silence for I don't know how long, a small voice whispered, "What is it that you are asking for?" "I don't know," I said out loud. "Where do I even start? There is so much mess to sift through." I could barely see the cold cement floor that my feet were standing on, so I pushed a heap of filth aside and sat on my knees. "You can't just push things aside and expect them to go away," He said. "So... what is it that you are asking for?"

I closed my eyes and explained my heart. "I am asking for help out of this mess. I spent so many years in this cell, letting things pile up and now it has piled so high that I need Your hands to help clean it up. I want to feel free again. And this is how I got to where I am sitting now..."

As I confessed my story, and explained each and every pile of filth that was touching me from every angle, the thickness of the air faded. I was tempted to open my eyes, but in fear of this being only a dream, I squeezed them closed even tighter. As I bared my soul, I heard crashing noises all around me. Loud, and thunderous, yet powerfully joyful. I felt more and more space around me, so I kept talking. I felt hot tears streaming down my face - at first in anguish, and then in reverence for this new sense of happiness in my heart.

All of a sudden, everything went quiet. I felt a rush of fresh air fill my lungs and a peace that filled the air. As I opened my eyes I saw that I was sitting in an open field. I felt the sun shining on my face. I marveled at my clean, fair skin. There was not a trace of dirt anywhere, no cold metal bars. It was so beautiful that I almost couldn't remember where I was before this moment. As I stood up from where I was sitting, I felt something new on my body. Whatever it was didn't feel like a burden, or heavy in any way... I couldn't see or physically feel anything. Then I caught a glimpse of my shadow and as I stared in disbelief, I felt a smile stretch across my lips as my entire being lit up in elation.

There, outstretched and as real as the air I was breathing, I saw in my shadow a pair of wings.

I was finally free.

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened by the yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1