JoJo Becomes Catatonic

My dog JoJo has an invisible fence. She runs around our yard most of the time with absolute abandon. She is a hoot to watch. During the recent construction on our home the line was cut. JoJo is a very bright dog. It is weird that it gives me some pleasure to say that. How does the fact that my dog is bright reflect on me? I told you last Sunday that I can use anything to boost my self image. I am hopeless but then I digress. Anyway, JoJo figured out there was a break and went AWOL a couple of times. We ended up having to tie her up so she wouldn't run off. Tying her up completely freaked her out. Even when we untied her she could hardly move. She had lost her boundaries and with her boundaries she had lost her freedom. I was reminded of an experiment with children and playgrounds. Some well meaning educators removed the fences of playgrounds thinking they inhibited the children. What they found was the children huddled in the middle of the playground and did not venture to the edges since the edges were not defined. All of this to say, I am glad God gives us edges. God places parameters around me not to confine me but to give me freedom. Because I, like JoJo, will only run with abandon when I know where the yard is.