Me: Nice dress.

Prodigal: This is what they use to wear years ago.

Me: Now we have more choices.

You know satan has a hold on you, when you can’t get out of your skirt. I looked down. The skirt was beautiful. It was a royal blue skirt that fit me perfect. It looked professional and was the right length. The skirt was not uncomfortable, and was even flattering to my body.

My battle was with the skirt at this very moment, and I was losing. Since I was losing, my attitude was going south with it. Let me back up though. Let me start at the beginning of the day.

My night had not been a restful sleep. I seemed bound to the state of sleep which seems like you are on the edge of waking up at any moment. This element including in my hours of sleep, turned the night quickly to one of unrest.

As the glow of the day began, I did not feel refreshed or focused. I did have to begin my day, because there were schedules to keep, and commitments that could not be broken.

As the day progressed, so did the unrest. Several times during the day, my agitation and frustration seem to escalate to the point of boiling over. What was bothering me. Just frustrations that happen in life. I was not dealing with a personal crisis, major health problems, or lack of any basic needs.

No this was a day, that was like any other day in our American culture. Pretty normal with several things that did not go the way they were planned. My spirit though was agitated as if the day was devoured by an evil that lay waste to my world.

As I walked through the front door of my place, after work, I wanted to get out of my nice clothes and change. This is where we fast forward to me looking at my skirt. The problem was that the zipper had broke and would not move down at all.

I was stuck. I could not take my skirt off. I tried several attempts and even moved and turned the skirt around on my waist so that the zipper was in a better position for me to unzip. After minutes of this, I decided to just walk my dog and come back with a second assault.

After the dog walk, I attempted again. I tugged, pulled, smoothed, yanked and begged the zipper to give away. I soon began to realize that this zipper might be broke. I started to try to develop plans.

I thought maybe I should just sleep in it and attempt again tomorrow. I was agitated, frustrated, and resentful. How could this happen. Why me? Then the thought struck me that satan has a hold of you.

I am in bondage to the skirt. I know how to sew. I have made clothes and know how zippers work. I could tell that this one was broken and it happen to break with me in it. This skirt was no longer what I needed. I just did not want to admit it.

If I admitted it. I knew what I would have to do. I would have to take scissors and cut the skirt to get it off and then throw the skirt away. Why did it matter? There were other skirts in my closet. I would not do with out.

Satan had my spirit focused on entitlement, pride, selfishness and materialism. I was in bondage. I had to hang on to this thing. I had to have it. Is that not how satan keeps us down and in bondage? In your spirit you know it is broken. You know you have to let it go. You know you cannot keep it. You don’t want to. You are so focused on not letting go, that you cannot see that God has other plans that are good.

I took the scissors and I cut open the skirt and threw it away. As soon as I released myself from it. I knew that I was in bondage to that skirt. There was no need for me to hold on to something that was broken. By staying in that skirt, part of me remained broken also. I could not be free until I began the process of letting go. When I did, the release was refreshing and wonderful and not scary and painful like I imagined.

Maybe you have never been stuck in a skirt with a broken zipper, but are you sure your not stuck in bondage to something else? If you are, there is no condemnation but only a fellow friend encouraging you that freedom is worth the risk.

Psalm 103:8

The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.

Jennifer Van Allen