I'm Lengthening the Tether...Again..... Day 60

Today I heard this song. I've heard it many times. But the line that struck me today has to do with being tethered to someone's heart. When I hear the word "tether" I immediately think of the series I am reading to my son, "Little House on the Prairie" by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  When Pa and Ma were making the trip out west, when they would stop nightly, they would need to tether the horses to make sure they got enough to eat, could roll around on the prairie grass, and rest. These horses needed to be placed far enough apart so that the tethers would not intertwine, potentially harming the horses. I am sure, as one did this each evening, Pa became an expert as to knowing how long to have the tether, what each horse needed for food, and how much rest the horse would need to endure this long journey.

I thought of the "tethering" I have done over the years with my brood. Not horses of course, but with my humans. When my humans were younger, the tether was pretty short. I was in constant protection mode. I tried to keep that tether as short as I possibly could, thinking it would cause all sorts of harm to be kept at bay. I was recalling with my friend Aleyne about the thing I would worry about for a season was that ...oh vah...Carl was reading them the "Harry Potter" series....oh man, was that ever a stupid thing to worry about...I would go back to those days in a heartbeat.

As they grew, the tether needed to be much longer, as I wanted them to develop their independence.As they turned into young adults, I wanted them to figure out what they believe, who they love, how they want their life to  be....so the tether lengthened.  Throw in driving cars, getting jobs, etc, and that tether was never long enough.

But, guess what? The tether to my heart has never lengthened. Never. Not for one little minute. Ever.

So, herein lies my quandary....

Lengthening the tether again as they move on into adulthood...When I see the wondrous, the hurt, the brokenness, the bounty, the beliefs, the activism, the love, the life giving and life sucking, the friends, the loves, the life....of adulthood.

When the waves come crashing over me....and I wish.
When the roar of life comes...and I pray.
When the utter magnificence of humanness rolls over on its side....and I love, always love.

We are all tethered to something, someone. Sometimes we need to lengthen the tether so they can roam a bit, figure things out, get tangled and  maybe a bit humbled. Keeping in mind this is all a dance. Sometimes we each need a shorter tether, a longer tether, an almost non existent tether, but its still there. The tether between hearts is unseen, but always there, whether we speak of it or not. Our heart tethers bring us back eventually.

I'm tethered to God, which allows me to lengthen the tethers when necessary. Even though its difficult, there is a huge amount of trusting in the tethering...

Thank you Jim Funari....another good reminder to me today at Journey Church.

Blessed in the Nest.

Julie Erb Robbins