Dog Leash - Mean or Caring?

Tonight I was walking Barkley back from the beach and kept him pretty close to me as he has no fear of vehicles or any traffic in the road.  A huge box truck came up behind us and I pulled his leash up tight and clicked the safety on, as soon as the truck passed I clicked the safety off and he tried to take off toward the truck.  I shook my head and told him, "silly dog, that truck would squish you so flat if you weren't on this leash."

At that moment I thought that keeping him on a leash, while some may consider it mean as he pulls and strains against the restraint of it, is one of the most caring things I can do for him.  Keeping him out of sand spurs, out of traffic and away from danger. 

This is the message I want to share with my daughter the next time I talk to her. She has strained and pulled at the parental leash for some time now, and the other week finally broke free.  But the freedom was short lived and she is now living in a situation and place that she regrets.  The safety, comfort and ultimately the love of our boundaries and rules were all for her benefit, not to keep her from fun or freedom.  Breaking away from that has hurt not only her, but all those that love and care for her.

I wondered if that was like us as the children of God.  However, God does not have us on a leash.  Yes, He has set guidelines and boundaries, but it is more like an invisible electric fence.  We may get a shock when we try to leave the safety of the zoned areas, but we are able to leave.  But at what price?  I know for myself I often stand at the boundary line, barking, yelping and whining about it, and sometimes decide it's worth the shock to escape.  However, time and again, I realize with 20/20 hindsight, that the fence was for my safety.

Unfortunately, my daughter is having to learn this lesson for herself now in a very hard way.  As I walk Barkley each day I hope that his pulling at his leash reminds me that the "freedom" I think I'm yearning for, is not freedom at all, but the boundaries are there to keep us safe and from harm.