Friday Flashback #12: Boundaries

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

I found this entry just this morning...and was surprised that I'd forgotten it until I read it. I actually copied a bit of it into a required autobiographical paper I had to write in the one post-bachelor's-degree class I've taken (about six months after I wrote the original entry), 'Child Development'. My professor put a little star by it...I guess *she* liked it! Anyway, it's dated April 22, 1992:

Anything and everything is defined by its boundaries; whether it's a Bach fugue, a city, a denomination or a person. There are many different kinds of boundaries: Legal boundaries (i.e., the speed limit), physical boundaries, moral boundaries, intellectual boundaries, etc.

I am defined by the boundaries I set for myself. Some of these may be fairly flexible and subject to change as I grow and mature. Others are rock-solid; boundaries I could not step across without having to totally remake myself as a person. By crossing these boundaries or disposing of them, the definition of me would cease to be...I would have to be redefined.

Notice, this implies that where there are NO boundaries, there is no definition.

Now these boundaries...cannot be dictated or legislated, these defining boundaries are self-imposed boundaries. Or maybe, [they are] the boundaries the Spirit sets for us. Whichever, it is up to us to choose them.

Adam and Eve chose to step beyond their boundaries, and all humanity was redefined. Jesus maintained his, so now each individual has the opportunity to be redefined [once more].

As I typed that just now, I realized I didn't say something quite the way I meant it. The boundaries God set for Adam and Eve were simple: don't eat the fruit of that tree. The boundaries they set for themselves were the boundaries of obedience. Once they decided to disobey, they first stepped across their own boundaries, which led them to crossing the boundaries God set.

Society can set legal boundaries, but we must decide if we are going to live within those boundaries or not. The decision to honor/not honor boundaries set by those in authority is really what I'm talking about...that is the *personal* boundary that defines one's character.

No one but me can set my own personal boundaries.

Anyway, food for thought today!