Boundaries – I often don’t like them. They can keep me from getting in trouble and
should receive my gratitude but instead are abhorred and unwanted. Boundaries appear to hinder and distract me
from what I really want. What I really
want is often (always) not good for me.
Case in point – Ice Cream.
I LOVE ice cream. Ice cream loves
me (because it hangs around longer than I would like, attaching itself to hips
and thighs and other places that don’t need help to grow!) Ice cream, for as long as I can remember, has
been one of my great loves. I have loved
peach ice cream, and chocolate ice cream, and strawberry ice cream and sometime
Neapolitan ice cream (a combination of vanilla, strawberry and chocolate). Ice cream and I have a long intense
history. We have shared many secrets
together. I have one secret to share
with you. There was a time when a half
gallon of ice cream was not safe in my freezer.
That was then – now, I occasionally have ice cream that is bought in
small quantities and gone soon so not to leave much damage in its wake. Now, my mantra is “all things in
moderation”. Moderation = boundary. I can’t eat all the ice cream in the world. It’s not good for me. Boundary set and maintained (but please keep
praying for me).
As I study and read through this psalm I found a nice tidbit
tucked into the midst of this passage: “You hem me in – behind and before; you
have laid your hand upon me” Psalm 139:5 (NIV)
All sorts of pictures come to mind but the first one is a
picture of a mother or father walking behind a toddler. They walk just far enough behind her to grab
her if she stumbles to fall or place a hand on her head if she tries to go in a
direction her parent does not want her to go.
It is such a sweet picture and indicative of the role a parent plays in the
life of the child. Parents are here to teach
and train as well as protect from unforeseen events. All children come with a desire to explore
because they are in learning mode. In learning
mode they want to see, touch, smell and taste everything. It is the way they begin their learning
process. As they mature they become more
discriminating about what they place in their mouths or even where they place
their hands, but initially everything goes to the mouth. Everything must be touched and explored for
feel and texture. Does it make a
sound? Are the colors attractive? Children come to this world wanting to know
it all.
At some point they think they know it all and start to
explore beyond the smaller boundary in front of them. As I continue to envision the toddler I see
him walking, taking one step after another.
He hears the sounds around him – they are not familiar but they are
intriguing. He keeps walking, taking one
step after another. What he does not
realize is that he is getting too close to the street. The sounds that he hears are cars passing on
this street going one way and then another way.
What he does not know is that he is too small to see all that is in
front of him. He has no clue the danger
because he has not had to face it nor could his mind comprehend what an
accident would mean to him or his parents or his extended family. All he knows is that the sounds are
interesting and the path in front of him is unfamiliar but exciting. He has to go further, and as he takes the
steps he takes he feels a hand on his head.
One hand that has stopped him in his tracks and turned him in a way to
leads him on another course. He can be
easily distracted by other colors he sees on the new path. He can also see familiar faces as Grandma is
calling and waving for him to come her way.
The crisis has been avoided, and he never knew his life might have been
in danger.
The scene I have just described plays out more times than we
know. For the parents reading this post
you may have done the exact thing that helped to save your child from
danger. It was necessary for you to set
the boundaries and to watch out for your child because they are in need of our
guidance, our foresight and our vision. In
some instances children are saved from horrific situations because a parent has
kept them away from it. Parents are to
be applauded for the efforts they take to keep their children protected from
harm.
My story makes sense as it applies to parents and their
children. I am sure most of you would
agree. We could insert God into the
scenario I gave earlier. God is a parent
– and we are His children. God has a
vantage point that we don’t, much like a parent having a different vantage
point as it concerns her child. The vantage
point we have affords us to see across the street when our children can only
see what’s in front of them. God’s
vantage point allows Him to see, well, everything. He can see the end as we stand at the beginning. He can see and He knows about the dangers that
are just around the corner or right in front of us that we have not seen. He knows all and He sees all. If we understand this about God we should
trust in His judgment, His ways and His will.
Sounds good, right?
Unfortunately, we don’t always trust God’s ways, His will or
His judgment. We resist the boundaries
He lays before us. If God says we must
wait for something the first thing out of my mouth is “Why?? I don’t want to wait!” Boundaries have purpose. Boundaries can save. Boundaries can be an excellent way to show
love.
The author of Psalm 139 (King David) said in verse 5, as he
is still speaking to God, that God has provided a fence that surrounds
him. He also said that God placed His
hand on David, a sign of ownership, love and guidance. I see a beautiful picture of God putting His
hand on my head – I love that image.
There have been times in my life when I begged God to put His hand on me
and lead the way. Then there are other
times when the invitation from me to God has not been an open one, because I thought
I knew the right way. Of course, I was
wrong.
I want to encourage you today – let God lead you. Let God surround you with His boundaries for
your life. Allow Him to set the stage
for what happens. I like this saying
that I hear sometimes – “trust Him when you can’t trace Him”. When God sets boundaries He wants you to keep
them until He changes them. Time may
pass between the first instruction and the next one, but God has not forgotten
you or where you are. He knows where He
left you, in fact He is there too. He
just wants to see if you will stand and wait for Him to show you the next
move. He wants to see if you will allow
Him to tell you when it’s safe to cross the road.
No comments:
Post a Comment