Don't Fence Me In

Oh, give me land lots of land under starry skies above.

Don't fence me in.

Let me ride thru the wide-open country that I love.

Don't fence me in.

Let me be by myself in the evening breeze,

Listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees

Send me off forever, but I ask you please,

Don't fence me in.

...Cole Porter

I used to hear Roy Rogers sing this song when I went to the Saturday afternoon cowboy movies at the State Theater in our town. I dearly loved this song. After all, I wanted to be a cowgirl when I grew up...along with being an Indian princess or a missionary to Africa. One reason I liked the song was that it was so picturesque. I could just see myself riding along on my horse (that I didn't have and would never have), riding over my imaginary prairie. The biggest hill on my imaginary prairie was in Mrs. Britton's back yard and it was only a hump of dirt.

Fast forward several years when my husband, children and I were going to be moving to the state of Texas. We moved from the northern part of the country to the Dallas, TX area. Garland, Texas beckoned to us and we were all excited about the move. Brian had a new job that was exciting and challenging, the children would be in a new Christian school, I would have the fun of settling the family in to a new area and really what seemed to be a very new culture.

We had a small, but new house built that put us in close proximity to the church we attended. I picked wall paper, tile, carpet color and the other things that have to be selected for a new house. Then I was asked a strange question and I believe Brian was there at the time. The contractor asked, “Do you want a fence?” Brian and I looked at each other before answering. Up north some people had fences but in most cases they were short, chain link fences mostly for the purpose of keeping pets in check. We had noticed in Garland that most houses had 6-8 foot wooden plank fences. I asked the contractor why we needed a fence. He was puzzled as if he had never given my question a thought. He then said that a fence would keep neighbors out of our swimming pool. Well, we didn't have a pool. He said it would provide privacy for us and a fence would keep out undesirables. I could understand the pool thing if we had a pool but to me a fence could protect thieves who might try to break in our back door and a fence would keep others from detecting what was going on. Well, in the end, we said no to the fence.

A few years later, we built another house out of need for more room. We went through the fence thing again. By now, my mind had gone back to my Roy Rogers song. Here we were in Texas with lots of land (not ours personally but Texas was BIG) and starry skies above and every contractor was wanting to fence me in. Our two houses had no fences. We refused to have them. One of the big things that became noticeable was that our backyards became the gathering places for neighborhood children. We had everything going....kick ball, soccer, cheerleader activity and general children fun play. They couldn't have all of that fun activity in anyone elses yard because of fences, pieces of wood, joined together that said, “Stay out.”

Fences serve two purposes as I see them. They keep out what you don't want in and they keep in what you don't want out. I'm not saying people shouldn't have fences. We had another house with one, but it was just our personal choice for appropriate reasons at the time.

I'm not as concerned about wooden fences that we might have constructed for whatever reasons. I'm thinking about the fences I have put up in time past to keep people out of my life. The slats on those fences to keep people out were made up of indifference, prejudice, apathy, laziness, pride, and the list could go on and on. When that fence is up, I don't have to be friendly or helpful and can just live life all unto myself. From a spiritual standpoint, that's a fence that needs torn down. You see, when we create our own fences, it is impossible for us to be the witnesses for Christ we are supposed to be.

I think it was Robert Frost who wrote in The Mending Wall that “Good fences make good neighbors.” Perhaps that is so for some folks where well defined boundaries are needed. Those fences signify ownership which can be necessary at times. We live in hostile days. I believe a good majority of people in our country are angry, especially when looking at the political and economical conditions we are dealing with. As frustrated as we feel, we can't take those feelings out on others, others who might desperately need a smile or even a helping hand. Building fences for the wrong reasons will never solve a problem. We need a sense of community in our lives. Our self made invisible fences must come down piece by piece if we are to be a Godly influence. It's hard to reach out over an 8 foot fence, a 6 foot fence...or any fence. No one else can tear down the fence I might be hiding behind. Tearing that fence down must come in cooperation between me and the Lord. When that fence comes down, there will be more “land lots of land” for me to walk in freedom.

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ

hath made us free, and be not entangled again

with the yoke of bondage.

Galatians 5:1

Father, I want to walk in spiritual freedom. I don't want there to be any barriers between You and me that I may have unknowingly built around myself. Help me to tear down any fences I have erected that would keep me away from knowing and serving others. I love you. Amen