When the Son Has Set You Free

This week it feels like my heart started beating again inside of my chest. 
My lungs are filling, my soul is lifting,
The cobwebs are clearing, the shadows retreating.
The weight isn't gone but it isn't as crushing.
The things that were hard are coming more easily,
The hope I had lost feels like it's returning. 

For the first time in years, I was totally honest out loud
About the beliefs that have been building inside me
In secret fearfully, worried who might find out and punish me
For deigning to love those the church calls unlovable. 
For wanting to speak out for those with less privilege,
For refusing to worship the naked emperor and tell him 
His tailor deserves a raise for such ingenious craftsmanship. 

I'm not ready to go jumping and shouting through the streets,
Purchasing prize gooses and wishing inanimate objects Merry Christmas,
But I finally feel like the chains that have been dragging me down 
Are loosening and ready to fall off.
For the first time in what feels like forever
I'm awake and alive and I don't resent the sun for rising.
I'm not too tired to do my job or spend time with the people I love. 

The Son has set me free; I might finally be feeling as if I were free indeed. 

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