We moved into our rental 13 1/2 months ago leaving our small starter home in capable hands and entering a home with space for little boys to run while we still wait to see where our more permanent place will be.
In this move we sacrificed something I quickly learned that I took for granted. We exchanged a spacious, fenced in yard full of grass for a smaller, fence less yard of dirt.
With this exchange I received a tangible example of a truth I had heard several times. Boundaries most often do not take your freedom away, rather they enhance it.
I'm sure you've heard the story of the kids on their school playground, but if not it goes something like this. After building a new school the fence around the playground had not yet been finished. When the children went out to play they cautiously congregated in the middle not sure of how far to venture out. After the fence was finished they took advantage of their whole space running, playing, relaxed and free.
A boundary is not a line drawn in the sand where you can get as close to danger as possible without crossing over. It is also not confinement where you are forced to give up your personal space and/or ability to live in community with others.
Boundaries are safety, protection to explore and enjoy the life you've been given. Many people will speak of Christianity as confinement where you give up all your own thoughts and ways to fit a specific mold. Or they will think of it as a list of dos and donts so they know how far they can go without getting zapped.
Both of those couldn't be further from the truth. The gospel is so very different than that. My thoughts right now are overflowing with examples and verses but we are in the car moments away from the family reunion we are driving towards so instead I'll just challenge you and me to continue thinking on that. Thinking on the freedoms Christ brings, not things that are taken away.
I say all this to say that last week another tangible example was placed in my life. Zach, with the help of a friend from church and financed by the landlords, built a fence in our backyard. And with it have come freedoms. The boys can go out and play on their own without worrying about the random dog that sometimes ventures in, without the soccer ball rolling behind the woods at the neighbors house, and without us all constantly making sure Logan is staying semi staying put. Not to mention the sweet sweet SWEET ability to say "go outside and play" when the summer noise of three boys is too much for me to handle! It has brought much needed adventure and independence to the adventurers in my house and much needed peace for a mama's heart.
It has also brought more realization of what Christ's work means in my life and that is the most valuable of all.
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