We all grow attached to beloved items, habitual routines, or jobs and positions that seem to give life meaning. But the following story may illustrate how our attachments are mere illusions and how the spiritual discipline of detachment can help us grow closer to our loving Father.

A Particular Attachment

As a kid, my family often hit the road on long car trips. One summer, my father, mother, my younger siblings, and I all piled into our car and headed to South Dakota. Once there, we visited all the usual tourist spots like the Corn Palace and Mount Rushmore.

My father, the history buff, also pulled over to see the South Dakota State Capitol Building. After a detailed tour, we got back on the road, headed to our hotel for the night. About 150 miles later, we parked the car and dragged the suitcases into our room–and discovered something very important had been left behind at the capitol building–my little sister’s favorite blanket.

Never mind that this old blanket had more holes than fabric–it was very valuable to my three-year-old sister. She insisted on having it every night at bedtime. My brother felt so bad for her that he bought her a new blanket at a nearby drugstore, but of course, it wasn’t the same. Somehow my sister survived and we made it through the rest of the trip.

Once back home, my mother wrote to the State Capitol and told them the sad tale of the lost blanket. “It doesn’t look like much,” she wrote, “but it’s very important to one little girl. If you find it, please mail it to the address below.”

About a week later, I went out to get the mail, little sis tagging along. Inside the mailbox I found a big manila envelope with a South Dakota postmark. I immediately ripped it open, pulled out the tattered, but beloved blanket, and showed it to my little sister.

She was ecstatic to have her blanket back–but also rather angry. In her three-year-old thinking, she suspected that we had hidden the blanket in the mailbox all that time!

Attachments

We all grow attached to favorite things. Perhaps we outgrow attachments to favorite blankets and stuffed toys but develop new, more serious attachments that threaten our spiritual health. We grip onto material things like houses. and grasp tightly onto harmful habits. We think we can’t live without the prestigious position we’ve sacrificed so much to attain.

What are some of your attachments? Some of my own attachments have come in the form of important relationships or the need to feel I’m doing something significant. For instance, I really struggled when my kids grew up and moved away. And I’ve pursued jobs and positions I thought would give me the respect that would fuel my need for importance.

Spiritual Discipline of Detachment

That’s where the spiritual discipline of detachment comes in.

Adele Calhoun, in her useful book Spiritual Discipline Handbook: Practices that Transform Us writes:

Jesus was detached from making a name for himself that brought human applause. He embraced his humanness and staked his ministry on being God’s beloved Son whether or not any one responded….Jesus let go; he detached.

Jesus knew that attachments to anything this world has to offer only get in the way of the beautiful peace and joy that life with God the Father gives.

Calhoun also writes, “We often refuse relinquishment and remain blind to our attachments.” So true. Life in this world often presents me with blinders to God’s way. I grasp onto material things I think I need for happiness. I firmly grip onto the idea that I need to prove myself through accomplishment and achievement–even though in my heart of hearts I know that these things are about as sturdy as a tattered blanket.

Let Go of Attachments–Grip Onto God’s Love

When I let my worldly attachments go, then I can grip onto what will actually hold me together–God’s relentless love for me. I may never accomplish fame. I may never find acclaim. But when I can detach myself from those false values and let those deceptive idols fall from my grasp, I know God will take my empty hands and fill me with a reassurance that my worth lies simply in being His child.

Let’s all let go of attachments to the tattered values of this world. Let’s relinquish anything that gets in the way of knowing and loving God. And then let’s trust that God has something much better for our hearts.

Next step: What is holding you back from a deeper relationship with God? Is Jesus asking you to let go of something so that you can better grasp onto His unfailing love for you?