Red

She was a somber girl, the color of fear. She wanted to be the color red. Vibrant. Sure. Fearless. The shadows led her. Left, right, it didn't matter as long as they could keep her from going straight ahead. The darkness whispered to her, lies and half-truths, deception, of what kind was unimportant, just as long as she was deceived. She could not see. She could not hear. And all who saw her, heard her, spent any time with her at all, thought just one thing about her: fear. She was the image of it, the essence of it. She was a breath, a vapor; directionless, purposeless, meaningless. The opposite of red. The opposite of alive. She was defeated. But for her rescuer, she would have stayed that way until her days came to an end. But...

They say fear takes up a lot of space. It takes up all the space. It takes up childhood and laughter; songs, poems, stray thoughts. It steals hope outright and plots the demise of tomorrow, yesterday, and days we would wish into being. It blinds, of course, and binds. It depletes. It wastes away. Though it could kill suddenly, it relishes in slow death. It savors the moment.

Rage won't stop it. Trying and striving and effort, staying one step ahead and locking all the doors, won't even slow it down. 

But perfect love casts it out. Love in all its unmatched restoration is like a fire in front of it and a wave behind it. Love is a mighty sweeping hand that knocks it to the side and helps you up. You breathe the next breath as though it were your first. You cry, because you can not speak. Not yet. You touch and feel for the first time. Cold, hot, textures and sensations unavailable before then, before the rescuer came. There was a time before this, a moment or a lifetime of chains, but now it is all different. There is air in my lungs. Life in my eyes. I am the color red, deep within my soul I am on fire. I am raging and burning bright. I can see. And all who see me, hear me, spend any time with me at all, see it too. They ask what it is. What is that ferocious light, what is that perfect love I see, crave, what is that? And I tell them it's Jesus. That is all I have to say. The rescuer came for me! And for you.

Inspiration, from a new friend: 

I woke up yesterday morning to find my spirit filled with courage and noticed the absence of fear. It was just gone. In it’s place were many things. Evidently, fear took up a lot of space...