Falling Into the Face of God: Forty Days and Nights in the Judean Desert

It's not the average Wisconsinite that would choose to spend forty days in the hottest of deserts, but William J. Elliott is not average. If you are lucky, you have discovered this writer's previous works in which he travels worldwide to interview the great spiritual leaders of our time. In both of his must reads, Tying Rocks to Clouds and A Place at the Table : A Journey to Redicover the Real Jesus with Guidance of Various Teachers, from Billy Graham to Deepak Chopra, Elliott wanders far from his native Madison, WI to seek the wise words a far flung array of folks from Mother Teresa to Neil Douglas-Klotz. In this narrative, however, Elliott goes on his own inner journey to experience the Judean desert as Jesus did. Elliott writes, "...my going to the desert was the next step in my relationship with God. And this relationship demanded a consummation; a confrontation of both love and anger..." My guess is that during most of his heat tortured days in the Judean desert, Elliott would have gladly traded his saunalike tent and gecko-infested cave, for the relative comforts of his motor home which gave him shelter and wheels on his previous journeys. But in Falling into the Face of God, Elliott has no choice but to share his days and nights with flies, ants, bees, lizards and other unsavory types with only a mosquito net between them. What gets him through all this? Mediation, getting up at 4:30 a.m. to cook when it's only 100 degrees and Clif Bars to name only a few things. One of the many things I adore about Elliott's writing is his wide range of references. Whether he's quoting the Gospel of Thomas, likening an event to Bill Murray's Groundhog Day or conjuring up Louis Armstrong singing "What a Wonderful World", you know Elliott is once again turning the ordinary occurrence -- not even observable to most of us -- into an extraordinary, exquisite moment. I also appreciate his ironic sense of humor and perspective despite the fact that he is pushed mentally and physically to his humanly limits. Elliott crawls to the edge of a 250 foot cliff for fear that he'll trip and fall. While unbelievably rappelling down the same cliff when rock climbing enthusiasts passing by adopt him, Elliott compares the desire to quickly end the experience to speaking with his girlfriend about some emotional issue. Elliot's writing reminds me of the spiritual quest of Anne Lamott or C.S. Lewis with a dose of Nick Hornsby's humor and spot on observations. Hard to believe? Try reading one of Elliott's books. If nothing else, if you make the right decision to read and hopefully purchase this book, you'll learn about the rules of the desert including "....from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., do not move!" From this WI native to another, thanks, for taking us on another incredible journey. Can't wait for the next trip!