Alcatraz Bunny
In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety. Psalm 4:8 (NIV)
Boundaries are necessary but we often don’t like them. We feel imprisoned. There is something about being inside that invisible fence that just doesn’t set right. I have always taught that every hedge of protection has two sides. It keeps the unwanted out and lets us know just how far we can go and still remain safe. Linda S. Clare (All God’s Creatures) shares a heart-warming devotion, and it is all about borders.
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Seven years ago, when we rescued a stray bunny that hopped into our yard, my husband and I knew nothing about rabbit care. Be we learned as much as we could, helping BunBun through several heath crises and building bigger and better enclosures in our backyard.
My husband, a retired US Marine, insisted on a shipshape rabbit house, neatly organized with heat lamps, cooling fans and green Astroturf for flooring. He trained BunBun to use a litter box and regularly tidied her pen. She loved to dig.
Every few days, BunBun dug under the flooring in her enclosure and tunneled as far as she could go. As soon as we found the holes, we’d fill them in or place rocks or bricks to discourage her from continuing to dig. But she never gave up. BunBun was determined to break out of her personal Alcatraz, that famous San Francisco Bay prison.
I’ve explained to our dear bunny that her greenhouse-size enclosure is a mansion meant to keep her safe. Outside the borders, owls, raccoons, and other predators might attack her. She could graze on plants that make a rabbit sick. Whether or not she digs holes, she must stay in her pen.
I can relate to BunBun’s yearning to run free. I often chafe at the parameters God sets for me, and I mistakenly think I should plan a prison break of my own. Yet when I remember why BunBun stays locked up, I see God’s gentle hand protecting me rather than restraining me.
While she won’t be able to escape, we’ll also let her keep digging—even if we have to keep filling in her holes. Thanks to BunBun, I see how God gives us enough room to stretch while still enclosing us—as bunnies—in love.
Dearest Lord, thank You for the guidelines You set around us. Help us to be grateful and recognize the freedom that comes from staying within those margins. We praise You for Your protection. AMEN.