Donald and the Invisible Fence

I said, "Donald, we need to talk."

He looked behind him.

I said, "No. You."

He looked behind him again.

I said, "There ain’t another dog in the room."

He looked at me like,

"Well… that sounds like poor planning."

I said, "Donald, there’s a fence outside,

You can’t see it, but it’s there.

That little beep means turn around,

Not run faster like you don’t care."

He cocked his head and blinked at me,

Then scratched himself awhile.

Said, "Dad, if there ain’t no fence to see,

Seems like we’re arguing ’bout air."

I said, "It keeps you from the roadway."

He said, "I wasn’t going far."

I said, "You were halfway to the mailbox."

He said, "I was checking on the car."

Oh, Donald ain’t the brightest-looking dog,

Sometimes he runs into the door.

He’ll chase his tail for fifteen minutes,

Then wonder what he’s looking for.

But every now and then that goofy dog

Will say something that hits me hard:

"Dad, maybe a line I cannot see

Can still be there to guard my heart."

Well…

I hate it when the dog gets smart.

I said, "You’ve got twenty acres, Donald,

Why you need the other side?"

He said, "There’s a squirrel over there

Who’s been disrespecting me all night."

I said, "Leave the squirrel alone."

He said, "Can’t. It’s personal now."

I said, "Donald, you don’t even know him."

He said, "That’s what makes it worse somehow."

Then the collar gave a warning beep.

Donald froze there in his tracks.

He looked down like he’d dropped something,

Then slowly started backing back.

I said, "See? You’re finally learning."

He sat down beside my shoe.

Said, "Dad, does God ever beep at you

Before you do something stupid too?"

…I said, "That’s enough, Donald."

Oh, Donald ain’t the brightest-looking dog,

He once barked at his own reflection.

He eats stuff off the ground outside

Without the slightest inspection.

But every now and then that goofy dog

Will say something that hits me hard:

"Dad, maybe when somebody loves you,

Their ‘no’ is sometimes where love starts."

Well…

I really hate it when the dog gets smart.

I started thinking about the lines

God put around my life.

The times I called Him unfair

Because He wouldn’t let me have what I liked.

The doors I wanted opened.

The roads He wouldn’t let me take.

Maybe I called some things restriction

That were mercy for my sake.

Donald yawned and laid his head

Right there across my feet.

I said, "Boy, maybe trusting God

Means I don’t have to understand everything."

Donald looked up half asleep and said,

"Yep."

I said, "Yep what?"

He said,

"I don’t know.

I thought we were done talking."

Yeah, Donald ain’t the brightest-looking dog,

And I think that’s half his charm.

He’ll forget where he buried something

While he’s digging up the yard.

But that invisible fence reminded me

Of something I already knew:

Sometimes the One who sees the road

Knows what I can’t see coming through.

So when God says, "Come back,"

Maybe I don’t need every reason why.

I just need to know the heart

Of the One standing on my side.

I scratched Donald behind the ears.

Said, "Good boy. You taught me something today."

He jumped up, headed for the kitchen.

I said, "Where are you going?"

He said,

"You said good boy.

Good boys get treats.

Even I know that."

That dog may not know where the fence is…

But somehow he knows exactly where the treats are.