From the Farm: To What Are You Tethered

We are all tethered to something.

Maybe it’s our job. Our family. Financial concerns. Anxiety. Depression. Expectations. The need to be in control. The list could go on and on.

I was thinking about this today while walking Bo Duke on his leash. If you’ve been following along, you know that Bo has developed a bit of a wandering problem. He likes to explore — sometimes much farther from home than he should! So for now, being tethered to me is necessary for his safety.

As I walked with him, I started thinking about the things to which we tether ourselves.

And I realized something: I want to be tethered to God.

There is a difference between walking Jesus and walking with Jesus.

When I walk Bo, he has some freedom. He can sniff. He can explore. He can move ahead of me or lag behind for a moment. But there is a limit to how far he can go because the other end of that leash is still in my hand.

Sometimes, I think our walk with God can look a little like that.

We start pulling in a direction He never intended for us to go. We become distracted by something along the way. We decide we know where we’re headed and begin tugging against the One who can see what we cannot.

And sometimes, He has to rein us back in.

That correction can hurt.

We may not understand why a door closed, why a plan fell apart, why something was taken away, or why the path we desperately wanted suddenly became impossible. But sometimes that tug is exactly what we need to bring us back into alignment with Him.

Bo doesn’t always understand why I won’t let him wander wherever he wants to go.

But I do.

I can see dangers he doesn’t understand. I know where home is. And I love him enough not to let him keep wandering simply because that’s where he wants to go.

How much more can I trust my Heavenly Father?

I don’t want Jesus to simply be Someone I call upon when I’ve wandered too far and need help finding my way home. I want Him to be Lord and Savior of my life. I want to walk with Him — allowing Him to lead, correct, redirect, and sometimes rein me in.

So maybe the question isn’t whether we’re tethered.

Maybe the question is:

To what — or to Whom — are you tethered?

“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

— John 15:5 NASB 1995