Jumping the Fence

Last weekend my husband and I drove up to the very northern coast of California to visit friends in the small town where we used to live. It was the absolute perfect time to drive the hills and valleys of California. Seeing the green pastures and gentle streams made the words in Psalm 23:2 & 3 stand out in a mighty way: “He lets me rest in green meadows. He leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to His name.” The bright green hills with gently wafting breeze, dotted with sheep, cows and goats looks incredibly peaceful. It is a contented population on the pasture. Their safety is guaranteed: the farmer or shepherd is on duty and has taken care of everything. They are content just to be: content to feed on what is so lavishly provided, content to wander the fields, hills and valleys before them, content at the stream, content to answer the shepherds call. It is a beautiful picture.

Many people do not know that there is a private herd of elk in Laytonville. As we drove past their pasture the herd was gathered together and content. Except for the three elk next to the fence. One elk had gone astray. Rather than being in the safety that the pasture afforded him, he had jumped the fence. Wide-eyed, he found himself dealing with a perspective of the world he hadn’t anticipated. He had wandered outside of his shepherds care.

We often wander out of the path our Shepherd has laid before us. Then with wide-eyes we survey a part of the world we were never intended to encounter. The choice is ours. Do we step further from the Shepherd or, like the elk, do we cling to the fence line wanting desperately to be found and led back to the field?

Gladly, thankfully, there is no fence-line with the Lord. Those who wander a little or a lot are always within the grasp of the Father. “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path”. Proverbs 3:6