When a man or woman has served time in a prison, for however long, there is a process they will go through upon their release. For some, it is easy but for others it can be traumatic. It’s almost like Stockholm syndrome, the difference, a prisoner begins to feel for their captor and in this case it’s prison. As a prisoner you are on a schedule, someone is preparing your food, you cannot go and come as you wish, there is a certain time to use the phone, scheduled times to see your loved ones, your money is managed, your mail is watched and you have no freedom. Depending on your sentence, you may find yourself spending year after year in this prison, getting accustomed to the yelling and the screaming of other inmates, the violence and being told what to do and how to do it. You get used to the food. You get used to the small cells. You get used to the little, if any, outdoor air you breathe. You get adapted to your prisoner. Now, release day comes and you find yourself walking out the doors into a world that is unfamiliar and it can scare you. Why am I sharing this? Especially since I have never been to prison or jail. Well, this morning, beloved, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I just want to help somebody today.
No, you may not have been released from the prison system but you have been in prison. Whether it was abuse, a dwindling marriage, an addiction, a job, a relationship, a place of worship or a sickness. And now you have been released and don’t know what to do with yourself. The doors have been opened and the shackles released but you still walk around like you’re bound. You’ve been healed and you still get up in the morning following the same routine you did when you were sick. Your abuser is gone yet you still walk around on egg shells. You left that place of worship yet you still don’t trust the one you’ve joined. Your marriage ended yet you still find yourself holding on to the hostility. The addiction, you still act like that alcoholic/drug addict. Baby, you’re free. Go to sleep in your bed, nobody will hurt you. Laugh, you won’t get hit this time. You can enjoy worship, nobody is talking about you. You can have that drink, you are healed. You can go on that vacation, your probation is over. Ma’am, sir; you are free now. – Happy Release Day!
Lakisha, the Author 