I was walking the dogs this morning and our path takes us by lots of farm land. I noticed the fence row this morning which was constantly pristine mostly because it’s a new fence. Farmers like to keep the fences clean without weeds and grass and of course, the barbwire taut and the posts firmly in the ground so the fence can do its job…keep the livestock where they’re supposed to be.
I got to thinking about my family and the events of the past 7 years or so. The results have caused pain, lots of hurt and frankly have been hard to get through. While praying about all of this the Lord gave me the following.
Some people get all caught up in their fences and neglect what they’re trying to protect. A lot of resources are spent on taking care of the outside while neglecting what’s on the inside. Some property lines aka fences, exteriors, are immaculate while the inside is a mess. Barns falling down, so much clutter and trash…stuff from yesterday that needs to be cleaned out. The people behind the doors are left without what they need to be the healthy people God intended them to be. Some maintain the property, work themselves to death, constantly spend themselves working on the outside neglecting the inside.
Don’t we do the same? We spend a lot of time and money decorating, maintaining our outside while we neglect the inside: our hearts and minds.
Yes. We’re supposed to take care of everything God’s given us but we aren’t supposed to neglect our family, friends, or our hearts and minds while we’re doing that. If we would spend the time and resources maintaining our “inside” that we do our “outside” I’m sure we would be healthier people all the way around.
Don’t be one of those folks who reaches the end of their life realizing they’ve spent everything taking care of exterior things and the interior things (what’s inside the fence) have rottened and been neglected. Balance is the key. The fence is important but it serves no purpose if what’s inside is neglected and dies.
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