Borders

Yesterday afternoon my wife and I packed up the camera and the binoculars and headed out to the coast.  If you’ve been following the blog you would know that the last few weeks have been incredibly rough on us, and even though my wife has been recuperating, the aftereffects have been slow in dissipating!  So it didn’t take much convincing when the thought about a leisurely ride up the coast popped into my mind.  Once we got out there we drove into the parking lot of our favorite beach, stopped in the farthest spot available, rolled down the windows, leaned back and just soaked in the beautiful breaking waves and the intense blue waters of the Pacific Ocean that melted into the far horizon.

Over the years this spot and the beaches that surround it have been a refuge of peace and restoration for me and my wife.  I cannot tell of all the times that we spent out there walking the beaches hand in hand, photographing the waves, the rocks and the various seascapes, tossing a football, or just sitting on the sand wondering about all the exotic places and adventures that flourished just beyond the spot where the water and the horizon became one.

Yesterday’s dreams of the never ending horizon beyond what my eyes could see as we gazed at the vast waters before us, got me to thinking about the various borders that the Lord described to His new leader Joshua.  Once again in Joshua 1:4 the Lord said ““Your borders will be the desert on the south, nearby Lebanon to the Euphrates River (the country of the Hittites) on the north, and the Mediterranean Sea on the west.” (God’s Word ©)  As I meditated on this verse a little longer, I began to understand some things.  I could see first of all, that the Lord seemed to be telling us that the desert places would always be one of the borders in our lives.  The ability to experience this harsh place is real, but the decision to stay and or to move far away from it is up to each one of us.

The other two locales that are described are areas where water and temperate climates abound.  They are places where it is somewhat easy and comfortable to be.  This is where it is not too hard for one to carve out a stable, reliable and maybe even a passive life.  But it could also be the place where settling for less than what God has planned for us is easy to attain.  I have come to realize during my many years working in the business world (as well as in the church world…) that this is apparently the place were most people have set down their roots.

Earlier today when I was brushing our dog in the patio outside of our kitchen, I overheard our neighbor and a friend talking about their grandchildren.  (This tends to be one of the downsides of living in a neighborhood of cluster homes.  Since everyone is connected by their backyards, it is easy to know everybody’s business!)  At one point our neighbor stated that she would be taking care of her Grandson throughout the summer.  In response, her friend began to recant about how her Granddaughter has always been in daycare and that this trend would continue this summer even though it sounded like a change of locations was being considered.

As I stood there brushing the pooch my thoughts drifted off on to how hard that it has to be to send your small child off to daycare since you have to work.  When I came into the house, I told my wife of the conversation that I had overheard and commented on how that just didn’t seem to be right.  As I said those words I immediately went back in time to a conversation that my wife and I had had with her folks many years previous.  We were going through some financial difficulties and her parents had stopped by to share their conviction that it was time for Piper to stop home schooling the kids and get a job. 

If you think back to the borders that the Lord had described to Joshua, I would say that we were not living in the desert places or in the cushy lands near the sea or the riverbank but on wilds of the eastern frontier.  Based on my wife’s vision and calling, we had chosen a path where we put all of our confidence in the Lord so that she could stay at home and give the family her all while I worked to bring in the needed income to support this goal.  That dream never wavered for us, even in times of potential financial crises.  We stood our ground back then as my wife lovingly shared her unmovable stand to see this through, and within a six month period we had traversed the tough times and were totally out of debt!

As I look back in time, I can see countless friends, family members and acquaintances that have settled in the comfortable places that border the sea and the riverbank.  At first glance all looks well, but when one takes the time to dig a little deeper you can see an underlying displeasure at the way they feel that their lives have gone.  I think that it is just way too easy to get caught up in what the world around us defines as the things that should be important to us. The Lord definitely defined a plan and a way of life for Joshua and the children of Israel that was totally different than what was common place in that day and time.

I tend to think that the same could be said for His plan for the majority of us today!  I guess it goes back to Joshua’s last departing challenge to the people he was leaving behind when he said: “choose today whom you will serve…”  (Joshua 24:15 God’s Word ©)  No matter what most would say, I don’t believe for one moment that it is never too late to make a directional change in life!  In Matthew 6:33 Jesus encouraged us to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things (our natural needs) shall be added to you.”  (NKJV)  And He didn’t set a time limit on that promise either.

So… In what part of the borders of life are you living in?  Have a great day.  Stay in tune to His Word and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”