Lord, I’m so pressed for this prayer. Process my thoughts for your direction…

I’m sitting here looking at my back fence. A couple hundred fence boards. Most are old and overcome with holes. Like, overcome with holes. Like, during little league games held on the other side of my fence, small children “fill the holes” with rocks. Lol. They have no idea they are adding to my landscape with free product from the park. Ha!

Thirty-two of these fence boards are brand new. They look beautiful, and the sweet smell of cedar is intoxicating. I love the start of my new fence. It stands so tall and brilliant and hole free.

But as I sit here, I realize the new fence (once complete) is going to prohibit me from knowing who is passing by.

It’s a silly thought, I know. But my neighborhood park is on the other side. My neighborhood “family” strolls passed me on the other side. I smile when I see my girlfriend and her son pass by on her way to pick up her daughter from school. I pray for the eighty year old war hero as he walks his Boston terrier each morning. My dog is thrilled each time one of his friends pause by our fence in hopes Tuck can come out to play.

I see my community through my holes. Im laughing at myself as I express this mixed, unsettled realization. A fifth of my fence blocks my accustomed view. Eventually those stupid holes (that I’ve dutifully complained of for five years) are going to be overtaken by fresh, beautiful … community blockers.

Lord, this is where I need you to lead the direction of my prayer… Those holes formed a strong place in my little world. They became a constant of complaint and curiosity. They gave me a connection to the community without having to fully participate. And now I am seeing your direction…

Hm.

The holes that remain alter our full view of the present.

***not necessarily a bad thing. Consider Joseph’s perception recorded in the conclusion of Genesis.