Canadians celebrated our 145th birthday this week and I grow more patriotic each year, in a subdued Canuck sort of way, of course. This week's extravaganza meant dressing casual, including my "Canada, Eh!" tee shirt to church instead of my usual Sunday best.
Our name, Canada, comes from the Iroquois word "Kanata" meaning village or community. It's a great concept, especially since our broad expanse has divided us into hundreds of thousands of communities of every possible definition.
The weekend's commemoration got me thinking mostly about provincial boundaries, though. Geography resulted in Saskatchewan and Manitoba getting straight edged sides while Alberta and British Columbia have a big jog along the border. How come Ontario got such a big chunk of the action? All sorts of curiosity-filled questions with potential for lots of rabbit trails and here I go.
When musing about setting boundaries I couldn't help but think of those long-ago holiday trips with our preschool sons. Seatbelts weren't part of that era's vocabulary so I would set the backseat up with each boy's appropriate toys, books and snacks, space equally divided by a large pillow. "Stay on your own side of the pillow" was a common response to "Mom, he's touching my side." Two distinctly different persons; two precious treasures.
Sometimes setting personal boundaries is no less difficult than the choices our founding fathers had to make. Some folks were pleased, some were upset. No matter how honest the effort, tradeoffs and standoffs are inevitable because, such is the nature of people. No matter what the cost, I am determined to live within the boundaries of God's will for my life. I've proven that there is no safer, or sometimes, controversial, place to live.
"And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you that it may be well with you." Jeremiah 7:23
