“From there flowed a merry spirit, as light as spring itself.” — Charles Dickens

Tethered.

What an uncomfortable word, I thought during my daily walk, imagining an astronaut drifting helplessly in space, tethered only by a single line to a spaceship. 

That cord being life itself, demanding complete trust—just like parachuters must trust the rigger who packed their chutes. 

For the past month, I’ve taken my morning coffee and wandered the woods behind my house. There’s something raw, almost holy, about stepping into a day’s first light and basking in that golden glow. The world appears asleep but signs of life stir. 

I spot deer tracks, watch chipmunks scurry around, and relish the cool morning dew on my sandaled feet. I breathe deeply, feeling the earth awakening. Each day is new. Each morning, I feel like a woodland creature joining my critter friends as the sun’s rays shine through towering pines. It’s here in the near silence where I feel sweetly close to God. 

This must have been how Adam and Eve initially felt, I’ve often thought—fresh, unburdened, free…unlike the word tethered.

During the first day of my walks, I continually dropped my phone. The second day, I wore a hoodie with pockets to carry it, and that’s when the word “tethered” came to mind.

Am I tethered—again-- to this little mobile device? I wondered.

I decided to leave the phone behind, and wow, the feeling of freedom afterward was substantial.

It was then when I realized that people, myself included, are all tethered to something.

Some tethers hold us steady and keep us safe while others cause us to miss the very life we long to live. Just like the astronaut I mentioned earlier, floating in space depends on his or her lifeline. The cord itself has no power; its strength is in what it’s attached to. In this case, it’s attached to a ship that carries oxygen, direction, and the freedom to move and explore safely into the unknown.

However, if that cord is unfastened or attached to the wrong object, the astronaut is in danger. The same is true for parachuters: their breathtaking flight is only possible because of what they are secured to that keeps them alive.

Our daily lives follow the same principle. 

The tether isn’t the problem—it’s the source it’s connected to.

The wrong sources weigh us down, keeping us from growing in the freedom of who we’re meant to be. Some may even doubt they’re tethered at all, but a close look at one’s life often reveals the truth.

Is peace always just out of reach? Does your worth rise and fall with others’ opinions? When fear, doubt, regrets, echoing words, or unforgiveness knot themselves into a weight we drag through life, aren’t these signs that we are tethered to an invisible line—one that drains and pulls us from the fulfillment we desire?

For me, something great happened on my morning walks: I realized I had been attached to things holding me back from contentment.

John 15:5 describes Christ as the vine and we as the branches—a branch thrives only because life flows from the vine. Simple, yet profound. That’s the life I want to be connected to—not a source weighing me down with busyness, negativity, or doubts, but One that nourishes me with truth, hope, and peace. One that reminds me nothing is impossible…that I matter…and that every person is unique, beautiful and flawlessly designed. For when the connection is right….

freedom rises like the dawn, 

peace settles in like the morning dew,

and the tether becomes a source of happiness and life with every step. 

Now, isn’t that a source worth connecting to?

~Karina Garrison