Deep down, in the midst of an overwhelming forest of dark shadows and tangled dreams, a heart is held captive. Held in a prison of it's own making, with fear, worry and guilt as it's guards, this heart weeps and struggles in it's bonds. The guards are like huge weeds, with strong limbs covered with thorny branches and bitter roots grown deep in the rich soil of lies believed. Memories of it's former glory still resonate from within, but a life of indulgance has dulled it's shine. The constant barrage of the wind, whispering condemnation, has very nearly stolen the life from the heart. Battered and abused from without and within, the heart is on the verge of giving up it's most precious treasure...hope itself.
Far away, a bright and shining knight has heard the weeping of his lost love and rides to the rescue. He can remember the days gone by when he and his love could walk and talk with one another, communing with each other and sharing in the joy that came from that relationship. The gap that stood between them now wasn't built overnight. No, it came from weeks and months and years of falling away. He hadn't moved, but he found himself further and further separated as time wore on. Time has no bearing on the knight. He is timeless, changeless and ever so patient. He has waited to hear that cry and now, having heard, is on the move.
He has heard the cry of the heart and comes to it's aid. Light chases away the tangled dreams as a warm breeze scatters the morning mist at the start of a summer's day. Dark shadows, with no place to turn, evaporate and disappear when faced with the light. There is no darkness where this light shines. The wind, so strong and sharp before that it cut straight to the very core of the thing it struck, no longer had any strength. Scattering like so many cockroaches when the lights are turned on, the lies within it's vile breath seem so obvious now.
Fear, worry and guilt find that they are powerless to stand against the knight. There's no real struggle or battle fought there. It would seem that that battle has already been fought, a victor proven and the outcome written in the history books to come. The guards can do no more than wilt before the knight in a silent acceptance of his power over them. The heart soon comes to realize that these guards were there at it's own invitation and acceptance. Anguished tears from countless years spent weeping over the belief that it was indeed a captive had only served to water the ground these guards grew in, their roots like tendrils that choked the very life from the heart itself. The knight knew that cutting the guards off at the base would only serve to allow them to grow back over time. No, the bitter roots would need to be pulled out and destroyed like so much chaff that is thrown into the fire.
The knight picks the battered heart, it's long lost love, up and begins to tenderly brush off the dirt and grime that has accumulated there for so long. He has waited for so very long to be re-united with his love. The heart, faced with the truth and once again filled with hope, knows that there is only one choice to make. It invites the knight into itself and the knight is all too willing to accept the invitation. This is what he has been waiting for. He joins with the heart and the heart begins to shine, each day shining brighter and brighter, not with a light of it's own but with the light provided from the knight himself. Others will say that they are able to see the knight when they look at the heart. The heart knows that no greater compliment can ever be heard.
Another amazing thing happens after the dramatic rescue takes place. The knight gives to the heart a set of armor, as the heart realizes that while this battle is won the enemy is a resilient foe and, until the war is over, there will be other battles. Equipped with the armor of the knight, the heart has a chance, but only if the armor is worn daily. The heart welcomes that battle, boldy wearing the armor given to it, because it knows the price that was paid in order to rescue it, a price paid out of the purest kind of love possible.
The heart continues that battle today. It has been set free from the bondage of it's past. It knows that it is good and it will remain forever grateful to the knight that saved it. One day when the war is over, it knows that it will be joined forever with it's knight in a new land where it will weep no more. Until then it will stand in the gap, wearing it's armor and armed with the truth that can set other hearts free.
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