{"id":2634,"date":"2017-11-09T16:18:11","date_gmt":"2017-11-09T16:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deeperricherfuller.wordpress.com\/?p=2634"},"modified":"2017-11-09T16:18:11","modified_gmt":"2017-11-09T16:18:11","slug":"attachments-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deeperricherfuller.com\/?p=2634","title":{"rendered":"Attachments, Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today’s post follows what I started last week, which has now been heavily edited so the two flow together better. \u00a0You can read it\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I pray for<\/span>
\n Hands that hold you<\/span>
\nhigher than anything else<\/span>
\n And a heart that loves You<\/span>
\n more than life itself<\/span>
\n This is all I\u2019ve ever wanted<\/span>
\n This is all I want to be<\/span>
\n All I\u2019ve ever wanted<\/span>
\nis to love You<\/span>
\n faithfully<\/span><\/p>\n

Margaret Becker<\/span>, All I Ever Wanted<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

This beautiful song by Margaret Becker was a huge hit in Christian music years ago, but for me the song created tension. \u00a0Not the whole song, just one little word. \u00a0One little word that made the song impossible for me, with any integrity, to sing. \u00a0I could not say that God was “all” I wanted. \u00a0Oh, I definitely wanted Him in my life, but there were always other things I wanted too. \u00a0It was never all or only Him.<\/p>\n

Now it’s different: \u00a0I know, intellectually and emotionally, in my core that nothing is more important or central than my life with God. \u00a0Getting here was a long and slow process of discovering repeatedly that what I thought I needed and wanted, did not fill me up as I had expected. \u00a0One reason this took so long was that my desires for certain people, possessions and experiences felt so real and essential to my happiness. \u00a0I just couldn\u2019t muster up seeking Him all through the day. \u00a0I could do it in the morning and at different moments in the day \u2026 but not ALL day, every day. \u00a0There were too many other things needed. \u00a0Wanted. \u00a0These were my attachments and I could not see around them.<\/p>\n

Attachment is a contemporary term for idolatry. \u00a0It is a helpful word because it is descriptive of what is going on in our hearts. \u00a0It applies to those things we seek as though they are essential to our well-being, peace of mind and contentment. \u00a0Sometimes we crave them. \u00a0We find it hard to ignore their pull. \u00a0We feel they will meet our needs for safety, love, belonging, rest, refreshment, meaning, purpose, unity … even when a part of us knows otherwise. \u00a0Success will bring respect. \u00a0Beauty will draw love. \u00a0Money will access power and provide security. \u00a0Certain possessions will open the door to belonging.<\/p>\n

How do we fall into this? \u00a0 Well, when we gaze at something repeatedly, over a period of time, a desire for that something will grow up in our hearts. \u00a0I drive a mini-van. \u00a0It is comfortable, roomy and clean (thank you, husband). \u00a0It is paid for. \u00a0I can transport my whole family plus friends wherever we need to go. \u00a0The air conditioner and stereo work great. \u00a0It gets great gas mileage. \u00a0What it isn’t, my kids tell me, is cool. \u00a0But I don’t care about that until<\/span> I start noticing what everyone else drives. \u00a0When I look around at the school parking lot I too, see nicer, cooler vehicles. \u00a0If I do this regularly, I will become discontent with my minivan. \u00a0I will start to desire a new vehicle. \u00a0I will mention this to my husband. \u00a0Now – if it stops here, if this is all that transpires in my mind and heart – I would not call my desire for a new car an attachment. \u00a0But, if, when I’m out and about, where I can notice what others are driving AND I am feeling disconnected, like I don’t belong, I might hear a subtle whisper*: \u00a0“this is why I don’t feel a part of things. \u00a0With a new car, I could fit in, I could belong.” \u00a0It is this sort of collision of hunger and object that creates an attachment.<\/p>\n

These collisions can happen every day, for our hearts are always hungry and our culture offers constant objects on which we might set our desires. \u00a0Unaware of the space they eat up in our heart and too busy to sufficiently screen all the images that fly by our eyes each day, we fall in love with pumpkin spice lattes, big trucks, well manicured lawns, fashion, fame … the list goes on and on, doesn’t it? \u00a0How many times did my kids pine for a certain toy, but when they got it, all that passion fell away after a few months, weeks or even days? \u00a0I am the same. \u00a0You are the same. \u00a0Attachments can be people, things, experiences and dreams, that take root in our hearts and thus feel so very essential to our hopes that it is impossible for us to recognize that God is our deepest longing and nothing compares to Him.<\/p>\n

What can we do? \u00a0What must we do? \u00a0Well … that will be for next week.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* This could me be my own head talking or it could be you-know-who. \u00a0No, not Voldemort – that’s he-who-cannot-be-named. \u00a0I am referring to the deceiver.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today’s post follows what I started last week, which has now been heavily edited so the two flow together better. \u00a0You can read it\u00a0here. I pray for Hands that hold you higher than anything else And a heart that loves You more than life itself This is all I\u2019ve ever wanted This is all I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deeperricherfuller.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2634"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deeperricherfuller.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deeperricherfuller.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deeperricherfuller.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deeperricherfuller.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/deeperricherfuller.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2634\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deeperricherfuller.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deeperricherfuller.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deeperricherfuller.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}