Detaching from material possessions

My family was the victim of a crime this week, as a criminal(s) broke into our garage and stole a bunch of personal and professional items out of our vehicles in the middle of the night.

My wife Kate and I were wallowing in our self pity when I remembered what Father Paul Wicker, pastor of Holy Apostles Parish in Colorado Springs, went through last November. He walked in on several men robbing his house, and they absconded with computer and photo equipment. There was no forced entry into our main house, thank the Lord.

We featured an article on Father Wicker's experience in the March 21, 2008 issue of The Colorado Catholic Herald detailing the event and the subsequent neighborhood watch program that Father Wicker started with Kevin Goos, senior pastor of the neighboring Mountain View Wesleyan Church. What struck me from speaking with Father Wicker was his thoughts on material goods. Sure, he missed his photos and mementos, but it wasn't the end of the world.

Here's what he said:

"It's just one more experience of detachment of things of this world."

That has stuck with me since I interviewed him, and it is a lesson for all of us when these kinds of things happen. Let's be grateful for our families and the many blessings that each of us has.