How to Engage Your Imagination in Prayer

Icons, Imagery, and the Imagination

(Artist: andrei_bodko on IG. H/T to jengoodyer_soulcare for introducing me to his work)

Hello Readers,

If you’ve been following along for a while, you know I’ve been doing a bit of a deep dive into my past, recovering the good, digging up the buried treasure hidden beneath the sands of time. My memory turns to the seven years we lived in the UK and Switzerland often, and I feel like I’ve only skimmed the surface of our experiences living abroad.

An online friend, Jen Goodyer (a spiritual director and wonderful person to follow), recently shared the icon above by artist Andrei Bodko of Jesus hugging the tree from his series of icons called “Always Near You.” It reminded me of the many churches and museums we visited across Europe and in the Middle East where icons of Christ were ever-present. After touring a church or museum, I’d often find myself in the small gift shop drawn to icons of Christ or Mary, holding them in my palm, and wondering what exactly one was meant to do with them. I had a vague feeling from my past that icons were frowned upon, but I never really understood why. I was tempted to buy one at every church and fill tiny corners of my home with them, but I never brought one home.

The first time I read Madeleine L’Engle’s book Walking on Water, I was in my thirties, living in Switzerland and beginning to feel the edges solidify around my desire to be a writer. Her book offered me so many new perspectives and practices surrounding a creative and faithful life. One idea intrigued me and continues to stand out when I revisit chapter 2, “Icons of the True”.