Don't Go There

When I was young, I used to love to venture into the woods near our home, and I quite frequently went deeper into the woods than the boundary line my mom had set forth as far enough. Each time I left the house to venture to my beloved woods, Mom would always say, "Don't go there, Terrie." She never had to say where "there" was ... I knew she meant not to go past her designated safe line in the woods. I well remember looking over my shoulder to make sure she couldn't see me pushing the limits as I scampered farther and farther into the brush that hovered beneath the towering oak trees.

I don't know why it was so appealing to me to traverse so deeply into the wooded wonderland, but once I arrived wherever I deemed far enough on a particular day, I would simply sit under a tree and read a book or write one of the countless stories that was always swirling around in my head. Perhaps I craved the danger involved in breaking the rules, the solitude offered by being surrounded by nothing but tall trees and blue sky, or the rebellious rush that pumped through my body when I was disobedient to Mom. Whatever the reason, no matter the punishment that was handed out when I returned home, the forbidden excursions continued for many years.

Looking back now, I realize that I've always had a "wild" side ... a part of me that wants to break all the rules, to go beyond the set boundaries, to rebel against others who try to tell me what to do. One would only need to look at some of the choices and decisions I've made down through the years to know that my spirit more closely resembles that of an untamed mountain lion than that of a domesticated house cat.

As I've aged, I've often been given reason to ponder this proclivity I possess for rebellion, this tendency I have to constantly think outside the box, this deep desire to refuse to do as I am told. And in this introspection, it gives me pause to consider how God must view my choices that openly and blatantly go against His will, His way, His Word. While I often view obedience, humility, submission, confession and repentance as envelopes to be pushed, He quietly and consistently says, "Follow Me."

Help me, Lord, to not only understand, but to absorb into my very soul, that when You say, "Don't go there, Terrie," You truly mean, "Don't go there." Take my spirit of rebellion and change it to a spirit that revels in You and Your truth. Take my wayward will and transform it into a will of wanting to be obedient only to You.

Take me, Lord ... all of me ... all I am ... all I have ... take me, Lord, and make me fully Yours.