Boundaries

Back when we were shepherds we got our first guard dog named Buddy, a great Pyrenees. He was as big as the old ewes and coated in long white hair and had a big sad face. He was afraid of people but fiercely protective of the flock.

We released him to wander in the pasture with the sheep but he objected to the boundaries we had established. He wanted to know what was on the other side of the fence. So he dug holes underneath so he could escape. Big holes but not as big as he was. Yet, he would skim his way under the fence and we had to get him back.

Once he escaped and we lost him for nearly a month. I finally posted a lost dog advertisement in the local papers for a big white dog who disliked people but loved sheep. We got a response from a fellow farmer more than 20 miles away that he had a dog who moved in to care for his sheep. We were able to corner him in a barn and bring him home.

This time his boundaries changed so that he had to stay in the lambing pens inside the barn. Buddy had keen eyes, ears and nose. He still guarded the whole flock by his deep fierce bark that scared the coyotes away.

The one thing I found in the Bible that has no boundaries is joy. Paul exclaimed his boundless joy for believers as he writes in 2 Corinthians.

"I have said before that you have such a place in our hearts that we would live or die with you. I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds," (2 Corinthians 7:3b-4 NIV).

Joy without boundaries. What a great idea for this new week.