Life of redemption

I carry guilt like an unbearable weight, so heavy, so massive I've been crawling along a road paved with shattered dreams, with my greed, my lust and the ghost of hopelessness bearing down, drowning the good man inside of me in the waters of loneliness that run alongside this road I've allowed the world to put me on. I am witness to how we can take one small step from our destined journey, how that seemingly simple detour can send our compass crumbling down into some dark and haunting terror, with no sense of direction, forced to become as monstrous and cold-blooded as the beings that occupy the shadows I've fallen into. But then there's a moment, when you notice your lungs filled with air so crisp you can only compare it to the calm breeze dancing across Eden, the damp, horrid odor of the coffin you've been locked in suddenly dissipates. You've fought this endless battle, your entire body yelling for some kind of reprieve. Your memories from before so vague you hardly remember life prior to this furnace you've been thrown into. Finally, you reach for the hand that's been stretched out towards you the entire time. That fresh air, then your swollen eyes begin to soften, the layers of self doubt begin to peel away, and you look down into the rushing stream of tears you've let wash away your happiness, it settles to a calm brook, you see the reflection gazing back up, and it's the reflection of a child of God. No longer blackened by that towering weight of guilt. As you take in breath after breath, you see the shadows slowly retreating, your carnal mind starts to speak, your corrupted flesh whispers a soft mutter, doubt, but your spirits already allowed the winds of confidence and courage that is Christ to penetrate so deep the whisper flickers like an ember off into the night. You begin to crawl, to move forward with a new found hope, you allow the hand of your Heavenly Father, the hand you've been grasping with all your might, to pull you up until you stand. A gradual slow walk suddenly burst into a Sprint, and you ask yourself, why did I ignore His voice for so long? The trial is over, you've slain that wicked beast, with the power of God you've overcame the cruel gauntlet that this world can be, your compass now points toward your true destination. Never forget to Praise and worship your Creator, your Redeemer, the one true living God, the God who sent a savior, the Father who unlike everyone else, never doubted his child for a second. Don't let the forces that once pulled your soul down into that dungeon begin to convince you that your anything less than loved eternally, loved unconditionally by love Himself. Everyone's got a story, let yours be one of redemption and triumphant victory. Give God the glory, walk as Christ walked, feed your enemy and don't worry about tomorrow, be the bird in the vast open sky and as the beautifully perfumed flowers in the fields. Those mistakes, the ones that produced worry as deep as the ocean, and those so miniscule that they were barely remembered, they matter no more, washed clean by the ultimate act of selflessness, by the blood of our Lord and Savior.... Your never forgotten and your