Our deeper wanting

Reading and reading again, but this time back in theology and not in novels or mysteries. I am finally trying to get some research done for my final paper for the Shalem Program for Spiritual Guidance. After that, I'll have momentum for working on my final papers for my master's degree in theology (finally).

Today I read a paragraph about how our "deep wanting" is a sign of God's presence. The depth of a conversation or of love or grief points to and feels like a deep connection within, which can also be identified with God's Love.

Thomas N. Hart writes that a spiritual director's "goal is to help a person get in touch with his or her own deepest wanting, on the conviction that being authentically oneself and being the person God wants one to be are one and the same. The director is trying to help a person separate out genuine deep wanting both from extrinsic shoulds and from trivial passing fancies, and to encourage a person to move confidently in the direction of his or her own deep wanting, as the surest index he or she has of God's purpose." (78)

Hart, Thomas N. The Art of Christian Listening. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1980. 78.

I have felt that depth in a conversation with my children and with friends, where we touch true parts of ourselves in a long-remembered talk. These times are special, and I believe that they are connected through God's Love in each of us, joining us together.