Fettered

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

Years ago when I first heard "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing", I didn't know what fetter meant, so I looked it up.

Fetter: Verb

1. Restrain with chains or manacles, typically around the ankles.
2. Restrict or restrain (someone) in an unfair or undesirable fashion: "fettered by tradition".

Fetter: Noun

1.  Chain or shackle for the feet

2.  Something that confines

Streams of mercy never ceasing, being rescued from danger and pursued by kindness sound great, but being bound by fetter even to God's goodness, well....

I've been in the US for almost exactly five months now, and it wasn't until about two weeks that I finally felt like I was back at home in my relationship with God.  Maybe that is a funny way of describing how I feel, but that it the best I can come up with. 

Today I am supremely thankful that my wandering heart is fettered.  After a season of transition and feeling unanchored, I am thankful that God pursues and that I'm chained to His goodness.

So what have I been up to?

Once again God faithfully provided.  I have found a church home at Covenant Church of Naples.

I am also currently interning at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.  Some days I work in an office entering data, but some days I get to spend outside on a boat or in the mangroves! 

Mom and I went to the Naples Botanical Garden to celebrate Mother's Day.  I am so thankful for all the days I am able to be here in Florida with my parents.

I like taking pictures, so here are a few from the that day.