Spirituality: Gerald May “Grace: Qualities of Mercy” Addiction and Grace Part 2 of 8

The desert is where battle with attachment takes place. The saga of the desert tells of a journey out of slavery, through the desert, toward the garden that is home. But it is much more than a journey; it is a discovery of the depths of weakness, the power of grace, and the price of both. Moreover, what takes place in the desert is not simply difficult travel and adventurous learning; it is repentance and conversion, the transformation of mixed motivations into purified desire, the greening of the desert into garden through the living water of grace. There is no geographic journey here; it all takes place within our hearts. And what happens is not only a purgation and purification, but also a loving courtship, a homemaking between the human soul and its Creator.