Boundary Lines

Psalm 16 is one of my favorites, especially verse 6, "The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage." I imagine a large ribbon floating down from the heavens and resting on a piece of land on which I happen to be resting with a good book and some liquid refreshment, hopefully including a stream or other body of water. It is the dream landscape of my life, I suppose.

Boundaries are something I think a lot about. This is not surprising given my job. I work with churches and pastors where good boundaries are often at issue. Sometimes pastors work too much for too little pay. Sometimes pastors hold too strictly to working hours without properly caring for the needs of their parishioners.

I know that I have difficulty practicing what I preach with regard to these types of working boundaries. I work out of a home office. That's the arrangement the four Regional Conference Ministers have with the Conference. I like it mostly. The difficulty comes from the fact that the only time I am away from my office is when I'm on the way to meeting with a church or association committee or with a local pastor. In other words it's hard to figure out a time when I'm off.

This is not new for me. My family became used to the pattern of never leaving for a family vacation without first having to drop something off at the church office first. Even this Monday before leaving for a few days away I spent an hour doing emails. I'm not complaining, even though my wife called up to me as I was doing these emails, "I thought you were on vacation!" I had a parishioner once who commented on my need to "clean things up" at work while I was on my way out the door. He said that I was showing a lack of efficiency. I had to admit he was right.

On another front we have decided to take control of the boundaries of our home. We live in a suburban development in Liverpool. Bounded by houses on each side and in the back, we are surrounded by fences. The fences along our rear boundary are the oldest and in the worst state of repair. I think they're ugly. My wife, Susan thinks they are quaint. I keep wanting to cover them up, or fix the rotted and loose wooden slats, or at least paint them. The problem is that these fences belong to our neighbors and aren't "ours" to fix.

This year we agreed upon a solution. We decided to plant some willow bushes along the back fence. They have beautifully delicate leaves, will grow to cover a good portion of the fence and also withstand the water that accumulates in that portion of our yard every spring.

Sometimes the boundaries with which we are presented are beyond our control. That is, we have neighbors and bosses. We were born into family systems and cultures that define who we are and what we can and can't do. And, we have to learn to come to terms with them whether we come to total complicity or rebellion or somewhere in between.

On the other hand sometimes we need to take control of the boundaries within which we fall. I decided this past week not to take my computer with me. I didn't check my email on my vacation. I didn't take any work along.

Even during my work week I have decided that sometimes I need to let the office phone answering machine do its work. Sometimes I decide to take a nice walk on the golf course chasing the little, dimpled ball along fairways, forests and water hazards. And, yes, most of the time I spend staring at this computer screen or at the dotted lines of roadways blurring by.

But, life is good and the boundary lines have been pleasant for me, and I am thankful.

Blessings,

Rick Cowles