All of our attempts to earn rather than receive love are precious. They will, one day, fail. They can not respond fully to our deepest love-desire. But when they do fail, we are blessed with a listening ear that hears clearly the voice of one crying from the wilderness, calling out attention inwardly to the source of love. Our efforts to grasp love become the springboard upon which we can awaken to the true giftedness of God's love.
Spiritual development is concerned with entering into the restlessness of unfulfilled desire.
It attends to the listening, nurturing and respecting holy quality of restlessness. And somehow, amazingly so, here is rest. Yet the sense of incompleteness, the yearning and desire, are ever present. Brian, a United Methodist pastor, is an Associate in the Spiritual Guidance Program, Class of Summer l994. This article is taken from one of his program papers.