Take It All Away
A sickening wave of nausea clutched my stomach. How could this happen again? Am I a curse? I stared at the lifeless body on the ground before me; a corpse lying in cold blood. All too familiar feelings rushed through me. Sadly, I felt used to it.
Dead. So unexpected. It's as if someone was playing with me, merely humoring them self. What kind of a sick person would use death as an instrument of torture and see humor in it?
Withdrawing from the world yet again, I pushed everything out. I closed my eyes, trying to evade the all-consuming darkness; but there was no escape, for it resided inside me. A breeze came in through the open window, bounding around the room. Stopping to pull at my hair, it too played with me. Was there no end? Little by little, I started to break apart. I was slipping. Hope, despair, feeling, it all crumbled to the floor. Forgetting to be mindful of my vanishing composure, the wind picked up the pieces, throwing them back into my face. From somewhere else, I watched helplessly as I began to whither away.
Shadows lengthened, growing taller. Backing into a corner, I sunk down to the floor. I drew close everything that was left of me. Hugging my knees, I laid my head down atop of them. A single tear silently slithered down my face. Every part of me threatened to burst. Screaming filled my ears. And yet, nothing could be heard, for none could hear my soul. Hours came and went. Myself, slipping away with the pervasiveness of time.
Something wasn't right. An electrifying ripple moved down my spine. Suddenly, a soft noise betrayed the surrounding silence. I wasn't alone. Standing up, I moved into the shadows. Moving towards the stairs, I listened for silence's intruder. Hatred was breathed in with every breathe. I had to get away. Whoever was there, whatever it was, did not wish to comfort me. For once, I was thankful for the darkness. Ignoring the eyes that seemed to stare at me from every direction, I made my way down the stairs. Once on the landing, I strained for some sign of my company's whereabouts. There, behind me. The back door was no longer an option; I went for the front. Reaching the door, my hand slowly crept towards the knob. Twisting it open, I stepped out into the night.
Up above, eerie streaks of moonlight broke through the heavy clouds. The air was thick, electrifying. It smelled of rain. A growing rumble shook the earth. Louder than I wished, my feet padded across the cobblestone street. My only escape was to make it to the forest unnoticed. The wind started picking up as I slipped into an alley. Letting it carry me away, I felt forever lost in its twists and turns. A soft whoosh sounded behind me. I quickened my pace, fear coursing through my veins.
There it was, the outskirts of the city. I halted for a moment, preparing to dash. This was my chance. As I stopped though, the wind too, died down. Everything was still, my heart pounding in my ears... or was that footsteps?
For a moment, I looked behind me. An earsplitting crack resounded in the air. Lightening filled the midnight sky. Two jet black figures were highlighted for but a second. Not again. Like springs, my legs bounded into motion. A second time, lightening seared across the gathered gloom. As if on cue, the clouds opened up their gates and down came the rain. Faster and faster I ran, paying no heed to the direction. I just ran. I ran from fear. I ran from life. I ran from everything within me.
My legs ached. My lungs burned. On I went, willing my legs to keep moving. Away, I had to get away. But no matter how fast I ran, I couldn't seem to escape. Closing in, I felt my senses start to dull. Everything became a blur. Bearing down upon me, knives were pulled. My foot caught, landing me sprawled in the mud. Frozen, I could not move. Life fled from my lungs. Death was drawing near, and suddenly I was that forsaken corpse lying on the ground.
There was nowhere to turn, nowhere to run. Fathomless black souls loomed over me, death reflected in their hands. I stared into the hollow depths of my captors. No life could be found.
Not again. Never again.
With one breathe left, I cried out. "Take it all away!"
Silence.
Then, from up above, a blinding ray of light broke through the dark, reaching towards me. Its fingers, sure and steady, began cleansing sin's hideous black stain.
~This story can portray one of two things: a person before they accept Christ into their lives, or someone who has, but has fallen away and turned their backs on Him. Either way, that person is no longer living. They're dead, forever haunted by sin and wickedness...which can be portrayed by the two black images. The body the person is staring at in the beginning is them self. The thing is, they don't realize that until the very end. With no hope left, they realize the One who can 'take it all away,' and that's what they truly desire; to be free from death's never ending cycle. On the verge of being lost forever, they cry out with all that they have left, asking the One to come and make them whole, to bring life to the lifeless, to save their soul.~
The amazing thing is, is that He does.
"For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved." -Romans 10:9-10
"And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we may also live new lives... Our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also share His new life... Death no longer has power over Him. He died once to defeat sin, and now He lives for the glory of God. So you should consider yourselves dead to sin and able to live for the glory of God through Christ Jesus." -Romans 6: 4b & 6-11
"Anyone who believes in Him will not be disappointed." -Rom. 10:11
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