
Shades of blacks and whites
Long black angry shadows
Hiding fears, mistrusts, and shame
And white as far as the eye can see.
Nothingness.
I wear my despair in monotone.
No cure for my sickness.
No help to pull me out of lifelessness.
No desire to climb to freedom.
Prison stripes.
Prison bars.
Prison chains.
I am captive to myself.
I want to be free.
I want Someone to rescue me.
Unlock this bitter agony.
Set me free.
Silence is deafening.
I want to hear.
I demand to hear.
I know Someone is listening.
But no one answers.
Anger builds.
Rage swells.
A fist raised to the sky.
Gutteral anguish.
I want You to fix this.
I want to be loosed.
I demand an answer.
Ripping the stripes.
Pounding the bars.
Tugging at the chains.
It has to be easier than this.
How do I fix this?
A faint jingling
Could it be keys?
Could it be Someone is coming?
Could it be I will be set free?
He stops.
He looks.
He weeps.
He turns to walk away.
Wait, don’t leave.
Wait, you have the keys.
Wait, let me out.
His eyes bore into my soul.
Water and Fire,
Earth and Sky,
Birth and Death.
“My child, these keys are not yours.
You already have your key.”
As quickly as He came,
He left.
Though the words seemed a riddle
I remembered.
I knew the time.
I fell to my face.
I sobbed tears of regret.
I have lived my life for my own pleasures
And they have bound me.
I dressed myself in prison attire
And turned the lock myself.
I turned my back on His answers
Though He told me time and time again,
Surrender.
Repent.
Turn around.
Walk toward freedom.
Long, dark hallway.
Filled with perils
Leering from every corner,
Descending from every high place.
Grabbing hold and hanging on.
No, go away!
I am a child of obedience!
I am a child of freedom!
You will not capture me again!
Inch by inch.
Step by step.
Choice by choice.
I am aware of a power
Urging me forward,
The Wind at my back
Moving me closer to release,
Closer to the light of day.
Suddenly
There are colors,
Reds and pinks,
Purples and blues,
Yellows and oranges,
The deep lush greens,
The brilliant hues of sunrise,
The dark browns of trees,
The grey blue color of my lover’s eyes,
The bright laughter of my daughter,
The slow smile of my son.
Feelings return
And I embrace them.
I no longer push them away
For the drabness of my cell
Is something I will never forget.
I know what put me there.
I know what will keep me out.
I never want to go back.
What I thought I wanted
Only bound me tighter.
What I said I wanted
Seemed too hard
To fight for.
I tried,
I tried to get free.
Beat my head against the wall
Screamed at the top of my lungs.
Tried short-term fixes.
In the end,
He knew I had the key.
I knew I had the key.
I just didn’t want to go through the pain
Of leaving the familiarity of my prison.
I had become comfortable there
In that place of death.
The light of day
Seemed so far out of reach.
I could never go there.
Only beautiful people live in color
And yet the Creator
Made me in color.
He created me for better things than prison,
But if I choose prison
He will allow me to stay there.
Choosing freedom
Is akin to choosing Him.
Though I did that long ago,
I didn’t know what it really meant
To deny myself.
To take up the thing
that is my biggest difficulty
And make it my greatest mission.
To follow and obey.
Now, I know.
Nothing tastes as good
As freedom feels.
Those sugary chains
Look delectable,
Taste like heaven,
But the hogtie like hell.
I’ve been to hell.
I never want to go back again.
I’ve tasted heaven.
I want to do whatever it takes
To stay close to the One who
Inhabits this glorious place.
This is the place Grace built
A place of safety, security,
Beauty, love, power.
I live here now.

Teresa Shields Parker is a Christian weight loss author, coach, podcaster and speaker, who has lost more than 250 pounds and kept it off since 2013.
Her books include: “Sweet Grace: How I Lost 250 Pounds and Stopped Trying to Earn God’s Favor”; “Sweet Surrender: Breaking Strongholds”; “Sweet Journey to Transformation: Practical Steps to Lose Weight and Live Healthy”; “Sweet Freedom: Losing Weight and Keeping It Off With God’s Help”: “Sweet Change: True Stories of Transformation”; “Sweet Hunger: Developing an Appetite for God”, and her most recent book, “Sweet Excuses: Stop Lying to Yourself & Start Losing Weight”.
She also offers Overcomers Christian Weight Loss Academy and VIP one-on-one coaching program, more information on both is available under the weight loss tab. Don’t miss her weekly podcast, Sweet Grace for Your Journey, where she shares tips from her personal journey of losing weight and discovering healthy living. Find that under the podcast tab and anywhere you find podcasts.