The Possibilities Are Endless.

I was thinking about boundaries this morning, and how to implement them in my life.  So, I turned to scripture to see what the Bible had to say about boundaries.  This morning, I chose Good ole' GOOGLE... 

The first snippet I saw was from Galatians 6:5, 'for each one should carry their own load.'  Yes, exactly. Boundaries. It spoke to me.  I continued to scroll through the various other scripture from other books of the Bible, (see GOOGLE comment above) but none really clicked insofar as boundaries.  Then, just before I came back to start writing, I see another from Galatians, 6:2, 'Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.'  Wait. What?  Don't these contradict each other a little?  O.K. GOOGLE, let's see what Galatians 6:2 - 9 says in entirety.  I won't share the entire section with you, but I will tell you what helped me this morning was reading Galatians 6:2 - 9.  It was a great explanation for me of how I should set my boundaries, which is was I was looking for.  God comes through for me, again.  

I'm struggling with boundaries right now.  Not just those in relation to my loved one's addiction, but other areas of life too.  People keep telling me what I should do, and how to cope, and offering all kinds of advice on what I should do; and, not that they are wrong, but all the well-meaning, 'Well, what I would do is...' is overwhelming, and prove difficult for me, particularly, when it comes to my son's addiction and his choices.  I don't know how to just shut off being Mama.  

Where is that boundary?  How do I clearly define it?  It's not marked like a football field, or basketball court.  There is no blaring red light with bells and whistles when I cross over into that uncharted territory.  What I do know is from the moment 21 years ago when I found out I was pregnant, my instinct has been to love, nurture and protect my baby.  Now, here I am and he's 20. Grown up (he thinks -- I'm 43 and still not grown up) and I cannot protect him from himself.   

Setting boundaries to help this Mama includes many aspects.  I'm realizing boundary possibilities are endless.  I'm learning that it's o.k. if my boundaries do not line up exactly with other people's boundaries or ideas of what mine should be.  I have no one's expectations to meet but my own (and the good Lord's).  However, I should listen and learn from what is shared with me.  Hopefully, I can begin to implement the boundaries I need to in order to protect myself, and my son, so we both know we are not shouldering the burden of addiction alone.