Today’s reflection came from a verse that’s been on my mind since I first heard it a few months back.

And I may have heard or read it before, but it definitely felt like the first time I actually listened. You know those ones? Like someone took the ear muffs off so the sound would get in.

I was listening to The Joy Filled Podcast by Genna Griffith (so thank you, Genna, for introducing me to this verse).

It’s from Psalm 16, where David says:

“The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.”

I didn’t immediately understand what David meant by that.

But the more I reflected and listened to Genna, the more I started to see how it might speak into this season of my own life.

So I thought I’d share it with you, in case it’s useful for you too.

 

Boundaries We Wish We Didn’t Have

How often do we think about our goals and desires and imagine how much easier they would be if something were different.

If we had more time. If our finances looked different. If we had the space. If we lived somewhere else. If we could hire more help. If we could put more money into our business (whatever it is). There's a tendency to think:

“If I could only move this block, then I would achieve that thing." 

I was feeling a little unsettled at the beginning of summer.

My son had just finished preschool, and during the school year I had these little three-hour windows every morning while he was at school.

Three hours doesn’t sound like much. But it meant a lot to me. 

It was my space for creativity and general life admin. It’s when I wrote, worked on my book, answered emails, and actually got to pour some of the ideas in my head into something. And sometimes, arrange a coffee with a friend. 

But with summer came the end of that little morning window.

After some research and a lot of consideration, my husband and I decided that our son was still quite young for day camp. A lot of camps don’t even take children his age, and the decent options we found were expensive. We also looked into part-time daycare, but most places weren’t interested in a short-term summer spot, especially for only part of the day.

And I’m not working in the traditional job sense, while my husband left his 14-year corporate job this year to start a business. So, for our family, paying for care or camp for those two months just didn’t make sense.

And I can say wholeheartedly that our family has had an amazing summer. It’s been simple, but full of so many special memories. I’m so, sooo grateful for the time I’ve had with my son, especially before he starts real school. Kindergarten! It still doesn’t feel real.

But I got used to those morning hours. And I’d be lying if I said I felt totally enthusiastic about doing full time Camp Mom all summer.

Outside of the, “How am I going to keep him busy and entertained?” part, there was also the, “There goes my time for the next three months.”

And that’s really where this verse met me.

I was driving to Costco one day with my son in the back seat, listening to Genna talk about this verse:

“The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.”

And I remember thinking,

“Hmm.”

What an interesting way to approach boundaries.

Because usually, I don’t think of boundaries as pleasant.

I think of them as limiting. Frustrating. Standing between me and where I want to be.

But David prayerfully gives thanks for them. 

“The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.”

 

The Hidden Blessing

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that we all have boundaries.

Some come from our responsibilities. Some are financial. Some have to do with our time or energy, our health, or our family. And some are simply the reality of the season we’re in.

As parents, we understand this. Children need boundaries.

They don’t always like them. In fact, they seem to have an incredible ability to test them relentlessly.

But part of their security comes from knowing those boundaries exist.

And outside the standard ones that allow us to function in society, we have boundaries unique to our own circumstances. Boundaries tied to responsibilities like caring for children, aging parents, jobs, community service, volunteer work, or our health.

We can’t simply do whatever we want whenever we want without consequences.

And sometimes I think we can become so focused on what our boundaries prevent us from doing that we forget that God already knows exactly where those boundaries are.

He knows your responsibilities. Your capacity. Your priorities.

He knows what He’s called you to steward.

He knows what you don’t have. He knows what you do have.

He knows every minute detail of your family circumstances, your experiences, your life.

And sometimes, we’re being invited to trust Him within those boundaries. 

Maybe you only have a small sliver of time. Maybe you can only work on something for an hour in the morning. Maybe you can’t afford the help you thought you needed. Maybe you can’t move forward as quickly as you’d like.

You are limited.

But here’s the thought that has really stayed with me:

I am limited. But I get to give what I have to the One who is limitless.

 

A Lesson from my Book

My book has taken me much longer to finish than I thought it would.

And even now, I’m still working on it.

I’ve recently realized I need to go back through quite a bit of the formatting to make sure it works well in both colour and black and white.

It’s one of those behind-the-scenes things that nobody really sees, but it takes hours.

On many occasions, I've wondered if I will see a finish line.

But then I look back at the process and think,

Thank God I’ve given this book the time it’s had.

Because the breathing room between writing sessions gave me space to read more, have meaningful conversations, gain new experiences, think, reflect, and let ideas develop.

Had I published this book a year ago, it would have been a very different book.

Not necessarily a bad book. But not this book.

Sometimes the slow process isn’t getting in the way of the work.

It is the work being formed.

And I've seen this same hidden blessing in financial situations.

Some time ago, I had the opportunity to have a company help me publish and market my book. They would format it, publish it, distribute it, and help with marketing.

And it sounded amazing. I remember thinking,

“Wow. This is what I need!! What a weight off my shoulders.”

But the $5,000 fee brought me to a pretty swift halt. Was this really the best place for our family to spend that kind of money right now?

We decided it wasn't.

And looking back, I’m so thankful we didn't.

Because if I had gone ahead at the time, I would have signed before my book was truly ready. I would have given up certain rights to something that still had so much growing to do. And after doing much more research and listening to experienced authors, I’ve realized that much of the marketing would have depended on me anyway.

What felt like a financial limitation was actually a boundary that protected me.

What I thought was a barrier was actually giving me the opportunity to take a different path.

Sometimes the limitation we see at face value isn’t actually the thing holding us back. But there may be another avenue God is leading us toward.

 

What do I have?

Scripture is full of stories of God working through what appears to be insufficient.

One story I go back to is Jesus feeding the five thousand.

The disciples look at this enormous crowd and see a problem: there isn’t enough food.

But Jesus isn't asking them to perform the miracle. He's asking them to bring Him what they do have.

It's only five loaves and two fish from a boy's lunch. That's it. Clearly not enough to feed thousands. 

But producing the fruit is God's territory. Our job is to bring Him what we can, with what we have.

So Jesus blesses the food, gives thanks, and multiplies it. No one was left hungry.

This was absolutely a miracle. But there's a lot to take away from this story in our ordinary lives.

When we give God what we can control, we can surrender and trust Him with what we can't control.

That doesn't mean He will turn everything into exactly what we imagined. His answer might look completely different from what we expected. But we can trust that His wisdom is far beyond what we can see, and that He can work beyond the limitations we see.

Your boundary might feel limiting, but it could also be a hidden blessing or protection.

 

A Necessary Distinction

And I do want to make one thing really clear.

I’m not saying that every difficult circumstance should simply be accepted as God’s will.

There are times when God calls us to make a change. To leave unhealthy situations.

There are things that are clearly not God’s desire for us.

Discernment matters.

So I’m not talking about remaining passive in something that God is calling you to change.

I’m talking about those ordinary limitations that come with faithfully living the season we’re actually in.

The responsibilities. The waiting. The slower pace. The financial boundaries. The small amount of time we wish were bigger. The things we simply cannot change right now.

Sometimes we can spend so much energy fighting those boundaries that we miss what God might be doing within them.

And perhaps the invitation isn’t always,

“God, please remove this limitation.”

Maybe sometimes it’s,

“God, show me what You want me to do with what You’ve already given me.

You know what I desire. You also know my capacity. You know my time. You know my resources. Help me to be faithful with what You’ve placed in my hands, and help me trust You with what I cannot do.”

 

The Boundaries have Fallen in Pleasant places

And that’s really the little lesson I’ve taken from this verse.

My circumstances haven’t actually changed.

Camp Mom is in full swing, and let me tell you, I am exhausted by the end of most days.

I still don’t have endless hours for creative projects.

But I’m grateful for this season. I know I will look back and say “thank you, God for those precious summer days before he started school.”

My husband and I have actually been able to collaborate more on how to embrace these boundaries and partner better together.

And magically, I have more time than I even realized...

Nothing about my circumstances is perfect.

But my perspective has changed.

I’m beginning to see some of these boundaries as hidden gifts. Maybe God knows exactly what I need in this season, even when it doesn’t make sense to me right away.

So I hope that wherever you are feeling limited right now, you might be able to pause and ask:

“What has God already placed in my hands?”

And maybe, little by little, you can say with David:

“The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.”

Thanks so much for spending this time with me today.

This is Grace of Belle, where life and beauty meet His grace. 

See you next time.

Xo

Natalie