He hems me in

Since I first saw the word for this week's carnival I can't seem to stop whistling and singing Cole Porter's Don't Fence Me In:

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

catchy song, and yet...

For most of my life
I fought against fences
running from love
running from anything that might hold me
running from the One I didn't even know was waiting
and I was the one building walls
fences that I thought might keep me safe

I was blind to the only One Who could offer true freedom
breathless, heart cramped from the running
till in His perfect time
I ran right into His arms
and in the fences He designs
out of His wisdom and great love
I am safe and finally free

You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.  Psalm 139:5 NIV

and then He granted this lost one
born and raised in the limited space of  urban confines
the vast Canadian prairies
and we live with no fences
wild and free
in the shadow of His wings

Join the carnival at Peter Pollock's where the word is fences