Unfettered

The hum of bees fills the orchards. Birdsong swells upwards into the expansive blue dome above the slopes of the Soutpansberg Mountains. Even the harsh chant of the touracos sounds like “Good! Good! Good!”  It has rained. The red, sandy road curves and disappears ahead of me into a tangle of knee-height grass, weeds and wild flowers. The dogs, panting, have chosen to walk where neat rows of Macadamia trees throw deep, cool shade to my right. Nuts hang fatly in green husks. Beyond the order of the plantations, the mountain becomes a profusion of indigenous vegetation. I marvel at how each plant has its own way of celebrating life with unbridled abandonment. Each bird proclaims the glory of the day with its own unique song. Simply. Extravagantly. Unfettered.

The way the wind blows…

I stop for a moment to absorb the humming, chanting silence. I am surprised by a light breeze that begins to tug at my shirt and then blows my hair across my face, tickling my nose. I watch as sun-touched grass seeds begin to sway on slender stalks. I cannot see the wind. But I can see the grass stalks swaying. Who can harness the wind? It is unfettered. I think of the scripture (John 3:8) that speaks of the Spirit – like the wind, we cannot see where it comes from and we cannot see where it goes, but it moves us – it moves things. If only I could be as flexible as those grass stalks – leaning whichever way the wind blows. Unfettered.

Unfettered is an interesting word.

Acts 4:13 “Now when they saw the boldness and UNFETTERED eloquence of Peter and John and perceived that they were unlearned and untrained in the schools (common men with no educational advantage) they marvelled, and they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13, Amplified Bible Classic Version).

Peter and John stood accused by the authorities of doing a good deed for someone. They had no formal training in public speaking. In the portion described in Acts 4, Peter and John were publicly responding to the allegations against them. It was a legal argument. The authorities feared losing popularity because of Peter and John’s activities and the growing surge of faith in Jesus Christ. By their own admission, the members of the council realised that Peter and John were moved by a power that was not of man. Peter and John’s skills did not make logical sense – they were not supposed to be “eloquent”. They were not supposed to be able to frame an intelligent argument because they had no education. At least – this was what the “people who were supposed to know better” thought. But their eloquence was remarkable and “unfettered.”

Push the boundaries …

Our own abilities need not be defined or fettered by others. They are God-given. He defines them purposefully. He equips us as we seek to discover them. He knows all about boundaries. Sadly, boundaries imagined or set by ourselves and others, by experts and the crowd, are often the reason why we struggle to embrace our abilities fully.

In a sense, unfettered and unbridling are similar in meaning. Unbridling, to me, means freeing myself up from ideas and opinions that have hindered me from living out that purpose for which I was designed. Who defines our possibilities? If you have been diagnosed with a ‘disability’ or found yourself physically impaired in some way due to an accident, who decides where your boundaries are? The good news is that if we are really seriously searching for our God-given purpose, we will find it and live it. It could mean that we have to push some boundaries … break some barriers … make some waves. But we can choose to embrace our abilities, not our disabilities. Don’t give up.  The future might seem uncertain, you might not know what your true capacity is … but you will never know until you give it a go.  If you are faced with the impossible, how will you ever know that it IS … possible … if you don’t give it a try.

Sandy