boundaries

February 8 – Order in the House!

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Many times as a parent I come across areas that need attention in my own life. This has proven true so many times that I’ve come to believe this is the primary reason for God giving us children. My parents refer to this as “paying for your raising!” Orderliness is one of these areas for me.

Recently, I walked through my boys’ room, and to my surprise (HA), the place had exploded once again. Automatically, I started to let them have it. “How many times do I have to get on to you boys about this room? This place looks like a tornado hit it! Now get it back together!” And I meant every word of it.

Then, as God would have it, I immediately walked back into my OWN room, only to find my closet strangely resembling my boys’ room. OUCH. How did this happen? I know full well how necessary order is in our life, and yet I found myself once again “behind on the basics.” Maybe you can relate.

And if so, there is great news. God never reveals what He, with your help, can’t heal. This is true with any issue we face. So I didn’t take much time whining over my shortcomings. I simply admitted them to myself, AND my boys. I had dropped the ball. And from there, I didn’t spend another moment beating myself up, NOR did I let myself off the hook by making an excuse.

 I believe as long as we are on this planet, we will all have adjustments to make. So, if you are human, there is a possibility you have some unorganized areas to fix. Order is the key component to anything God has set before you.

But don’t panic. If anyone understands our challenges, He does. And He’s already made provision for our lack of vision. So before we can say “help,” wisdom and comfort will come running to meet us.

Let all things be done decently and in order. 1 Corinthians 14:40 NKJV

Biblical Meditation: Matthew 19:26 But Jesus looked at them and said, With men this is impossible, but all things are possible with God.

 

December 19 – Neighbors and Fences

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Do not remove the ancient landmark which your fathers have set. Proverbs 22:28 NKJV

In the summer of 1981, I threw a sack of kitchen trash over the fence into Mrs. Lopez’ yard.

Not being one of the smartest things I ever did, this little lazy maneuver bought me more trauma and drama than my eleven year-old “hips” had bargained for. I just wanted to get to the swimming pool on time and walking another twenty-five yards to the “dipsty dumpster” was cramping my schedule.

Fences are a necessary part of life. But often they are seen as restriction police aimed at keeping people and their unwanted stuff out (or In Mrs. Lopez’s case, I’m sure she hoped the fence between our yard would have served as such.) Or conversely, they are great for keeping the good stuff in.

Sure, my fence might keep my kids safe in the backyard or my cows off the road. But more important, it is encapsulating memories for my children that will assist them when it’s their turn to build some fences.

And neighbors…well, good ones appreciate and understand, because they are building right along with ya!

So before you go throwing “trash” (or anything else, for that matter) over someone’s fence, wisdom says, “know why it was put up in the first place.”

The ones who built it would sure appreciate it!