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Body-Part Prayers—Milagros

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As a child and teen in the late 1950’s and 60’s in a firmly Protestant family, I was afraid of the symbols and physicality of my Catholic neighbors’ faith. Rosaries, medals of saints, statues of angels and Jesus, and crucifixes seemed both anti-intellectual and idolatrous. Why would anyone need these primitive objects to bolster their faith when there were words–the words of Scripture, prayers, hymns, and theological discourse? Religion was about having the correct thoughts and beliefs, wasn’t it?—not having some sentimental, visual, or tactile experience.

This snobby attitude worked for most of my life–until it didn’t, until words started to fail me in both prayer and worship. When I prayed for others, I lost my words. I could think of nothing to say except the simplest of prayers. “Heal him.” “Keep them safe, Lord.” “Please help her.” I expect God was fine with those barebones words. In the midst of this era of puny verbal prayers, I accidentally started to pray in color. A simple shape with lines, arcs, dots, and a smattering of color with a name became the visual platform for my prayers. Doodling gave me a way to get still on the inside, focus on the person I cared about, and turn my concerns over to God. My drawings were not the object of my prayer as I had incorrectly assumed rosaries, medals, and statutes were for others. But they were an avenue and aid for my prayer life. They released me from the need to have words, but gave me a way to sit in prayer.

I’ve been praying in color for fifteen years now, using it to corral my thoughts and enhance my intercessions, gratitudes, confessions, and adorations. Recently I’ve noticed that my doodles have been body parts. My husband and another friend had heart surgery. My husband had colon surgery. My friend Merry just had a extensive and painful foot surgery. Their names ended up in a heart, a colon, and a foot. As mostly an abstract doodler, I was surprised by the representational prayer drawings.

But I realized that this is not a new idea. People have been “praying with body parts” for years. Christians in Spain, Mexico, and South America use milagros and ex-votos. These are physical objects in various shapes offered to concretize a specific prayer request and a desired outcome. They can be small or large–silver, tin, wax, or wood. Since many prayers are for physical healing , many milagros are in the shape of a body part—heart, breast, kidney, intestine, foot, leg, hip.  You name it. Some are small and fit in the hand. Holding them can be a tactile reminder to pray. Seeing them can be a visual reminder to pray. Often the milagros are taken to a church and placed near a candle or statue of a saint to request healing. They are also offered as a token of gratitude for answered prayer.

So I guess my doodled body-part prayers are a form of milagro. They are my way to make my prayers concrete. If words come to me as I draw, I pray them. Keeping the doodled prayers in plain sight is a prompt for me to be vigilant in prayer. On another day I add words, marks, and color to “update” my prayers. I am no longer ashamed that my prayers are tactile and visual. God does not require brilliant and articulate words from me but a willingness of spirit and an openness to God’s presence in whatever form that may come.

The milagros/ex-votos in the collage below belong to my friend Carol. They are made of wax, silver, and wood. In the third picture the wooden feet are life-sized. The silver ones fit in the palm of my hand.  Click to read more about milagros and ex-votos.

Pilgrimage Prayers

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When I returned last week from 30 days of pilgrimage and vacation in Europe, I realized something. While I was there I had prayed multiple prayers of thanksgiving for the beauty of the world, the fabulous food, the wonderful companionship, and the careful planning of many people. My prayers were also full of adoration and awe for the God who puts whimsy and wildness into creation. I even muttered a few prayers of confession for my occasional grouchiness and judgmental spirit. But almost completely absent were prayers of intercession–words and petitions offered on behalf of other people. My first response to this realization was guilt. How could I be so selfish? People still needed my prayers even if I was far away. I had packed colored pencils and paper in my backpack so I could doodle and pray for people back home. But that didn’t happen. Then I realized something else. God can manage the world just fine without my assistance. My family and friends are always in God’s care, whether or not I am worrying about them, praying for them, or even not thinking about them. My prayers for their health, safety, and well-being are more a reminder to me of God’s omnipresence than a way of nudging God into action.

Much of my doodling on this trip was about trying to recreate and remember some of the magnificent things I saw around me. Although I took lots of photos, my hands wanted to capture on paper what my eyes saw in the world. When I managed to let go of the art critic inside my head, I enjoyed playful attempts at reproducing the essence of the Irish countryside in shape and color–even if my sheep looked a little like ants. I don’t know if these drawings are prayers but I think most of the time when I put pen and color to paper I am trying to find a kinesthetic, visual way to transcribe the awe I experience.

ireland-land-1

One Sunday, my husband and I attended the Communion Service at the Anglican Cathedral in Galway called St. Nicholas. The beautiful stained-glass windows caught my attention. Instead of being a distraction from the liturgy, the windows gathered me into an experience of worship. They made me want to draw, so I did. Although the result below looks little like the actual window except in shape, the drawing recalls for me the gratitude and joy I felt as I worshipped in that space.

The minister preached on Luke 16:
19 “There was a rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.
20 And at his gate lay a poor man named Laz’arus, full of sores,
21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table; moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried;  (NRSV)

I drew while the preacher spoke. Drawing helps me to pay attention while listening, just as it does for me in prayer. The strokes and words also remind me later of  the key ideas I have heard in the sermon.

st-nicholas-1

My four weeks away turned out to be an unintentional intercessory prayer sabbatical. Like most everything else on this pilgrimage, the prayers that did rise up in me were unexpected and surprising gifts.

Two-Stroke Doodled Prayers

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I love drawing my prayers. In a pinch, coloring pages work as a place to record my intercessions, gratitudes, and confessions, but there is something so satisfying about growing my own prayer. For the drawing-phobic like myself, directions and boundaries are sometimes helpful. For example, the Zentangle Method of doodling provides clear instructions, frameworks, and specific supplies; the results are beautiful even for the “non-artist.” I am not a Zentangler, but I like the clarity of the process. Many books and workshops are available to learn zentangling.

My favorite “boundaried” way of creating a prayer is by limiting my stroke choices. My friend Cindy O of Mostly Markers and Mostly Markers–Cards suggested this to me several years ago. She calls the results a rosette. My versions often end up so angular they look more like the pattern in an old rug. See the examples below.

Limiting the number of strokes or shapes frees me up to actually focus on the prayer and to quell the mutterings of the art critic in my head. Here’s how it works:
1) Start with a word for God: God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Beloved One, Creator, Awesome God, Holy One…. Write the word in the middle of your paper.
2) Draw lines, petals, or zigzags emanating from the word to the edges of the page. The lines form the framework or lattice to hang the rest of the prayer on.
3) Choose two shapes or strokes that you will use to draw your prayer. Here are some of my favorite pairs of shapes: U’s (arcs) and V’s, lines and circles, waves and triangles, rectangles and lines, hearts and arcs.… You can experiment with any two shapes or strokes.  Some work better than others.
4) Start to create your prayer rosette. Draw your two shapes/strokes on the lattice or connect two pieces of the lattice . As the prayer drawing grows you can color in spaces and add names of people you are praying for. Feel free to add words of prayer as well.

This format can be used for all kinds of prayer forms: intercession, adorations, confessions, thanksgivings…. I use this style of prayer drawing when I want to spend time with God and have no specific agenda. The repetitive drawing of my two strokes helps me to stay focused and in my chair without worrying about the beauty or ugliness of the drawing. As I draw I get to be still and to listen.

In the first example below, I drew almost straight lines from the word God. Then I chose U’s and V’s. Some of the U’s and V’s are sharply curved; some are flat. Some are singles, some doubles or triples. In the second example, I drew petals out from the name of Jesus. Lines and circles formed the rest of the drawing. The end product is always a surprise. Along the way, there are lots of spaces for adding color or words. The last example uses lines, arcs, and color.

god-collage-resized

jesus-collage-resized

god2

Intercessory Prayer on a Coloring Page

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Most of my visual prayers start with doodling and then include coloring. The doodling focuses my attention and invites my eyes and hand into my prayer. Doodling and coloring give me time to slow down.They help to calm the chatter in my mind and help me to get quiet enough to listen. The lines, dots, swirls, and arcs are like little nonverbal prayers.

Although I love to doodle when I pray I have come to appreciate the value of a pre-drawn template. The format is already laid out. The first words on the coloring page are the name I am using for God. In this prayer, it is Almighty God. Then I add people’s names or write words of intercession, gratitude, or concern. Then I begin to color. Each stroke of color can become a wordless prayer. A coloring page/template can be used for almost any kind of prayer. Coloring prayers can also be progressive. There’s no need to fill in the whole coloring page in one sitting. I can add new names on another day or add words for the people already on the page–my requests, emotions, fears, hopes….

I keep the emerging prayer in plain sight so whenever I notice it, it prods me to pray again.

Intercessory Prayer Jun 13, 2016 (1)

This is #1 template in the book Pray and Color: A Coloring Book and Guide to Prayer. I have to admit it was really fun to draw the pages.

Pray and Color Front Cover

Pray and Color Now Available

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My new book Pray and Color: A Coloring Book and Guide to Prayer is now available from amazon, Paraclete, and the usual suspects. It has 32 coloring pages and offers 14 ways to pray using the pages. Here are a list of the ways to pray:

Prayers for Others     Prayers for Myself   Disgruntled Prayers  

Gratitude or Gruntled Prayers   Praise or Adoration Prayers   

Confession or Regret Prayers   Spending Time with God Prayers  

Blessing Prayers   Praying for Your Enemies  Praying a Passage of Scripture

Praying Your To-Do List  Daily Inventory Prayer–Examen   Hodgepodge Prayers

Praying in Calendars

Pray and Color Front Cover

 

 

First-Week-of-Advent Calendars

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As a strong P (Perceiver) on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator I have trouble making decisions, especially when there are so many options to choose from. Perceivers never have enough data. Some new piece of information confuses them and keeps them from making decisions. Someone once told me it was a good thing I said a young, impulsive “Yes” to marriage; if I had waited I never would have been able to make a decision.

When it comes to Advent, there are so many ways to practice or celebrate it. “Which Advent calendar to use?” “Which book of meditations to read?” “Purple or blue candles?” “Which books of Scripture to read?” “Which organizations, charities, and causes to send our annual gifts to?” All these questions and choices befuddle me. I realize these are First World privileges and not of major importance in the scheme of things. But these practices do provide a framework for my prayer/spiritual life. Much to my delight, I made a few choices before the third week of Advent. I chose purple candles, two Advent calendars, and one book of meditations.

The calendars below show the first eight days of Advent. On the calendar with the round stickers I wrote a line from God is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The book has reflections by Bonhoeffer on Advent, a “bonus” piece of writing by him or another theologian, and a relevant Scripture passage. It is short and manageable. Much of the writing is from Bonhoeffer’s time in prison before his execution. Bonhoeffer wrote to a friend, “Life in a prison cell may well be compared to Advent. One waits, hopes, does this or that, or the other—things that are of really no consequence—the door is shut, and can only be opened from the outside.” (p.X, Editor’s Preface) I like to look back at the thoughts accumulating each day. It feels like a spiritual This is the House That Jack Built—the Mother Goose rhyme where something new is added with each repetition of the rhyme.

Advent 1 2015 Circles

The second calendar is for intercessions—prayers of concern and gratitude for people in my life. This visual prayer list keeps the names within eyeshot of me and reminds me to pray for them–with or without words.

Advent 1 2015 Trees

Ugly Little Prayers

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In a recent Facebook discussion someone said, “There is too much emphasis on making pretty prayers.” I agree. Now that I have doodled for a few decades, my prayer drawings sometimes look decent, maybe even pretty. It’s easy for their appearance to become a priority, to feel like my prayers should be an art project and always look good. But that misses the point. For me the point of praying in color is to create a prayer time and a visual prayer list. If a prayer is ugly, maybe that will implant the prayer in my mind even better than a nicely executed, appealing one.

Maybe it is important to draw sloppy visual prayers in the same way that it is important to pray sloppy, inarticulate verbal prayers. The point is to pray–beautiful or ugly, articulate or blathering wherever and whenever. I believe God receives all of our prayers, without judgment, without giving us a grade.

If you’re tempted to only keep your pretty prayers, commit to praying a few ugly ones. Choose colors that clash or ones you do not like. Use an uncomfortable name for God. Draw on a paper napkin, a paper towel, or the back of an old envelope.

Now I have showed you some of my ugly little prayers, please show me yours.

Ugly Prayers (1)

Family Tree Advent Calendar

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Advent is the beginning of the annual church pilgrimage through Scripture and salvation history. I think of it as the starting gate to the yearly reunion with our spiritual ancestors from the Bible and from two thousand years of Christian history. In the midst of reconnecting with all of those characters in the stories, I am often confronted with the relationships I have with my own relatives and ancestors.

Maybe Advent is a good time for me to pray for the members of my family, both alive and dead. I carry a full array of emotions, feelings, and thoughts about them–gratitude, sorrow, love, resentment, delight, frustration, friendship, bewilderment, joy, forgiveness, and unforgiveness. Some of those relationships need healing or maybe just a fresh way to view them. I need to vent some ill feelings and forgive some of my relatives. But I also need forgiveness for my behavior with them. Praying for my relatives opens the door to my memory, but also to my heart. In most cases, my prayer time with family members will remind me of the richness and love in those relationships.

Below is a template for a family tree calendar. Pray for a family member each day. Write the name of the person or paste a picture (with glue or digitally) in a ball on the tree. Doodle, draw, and include words if you like. Make this an opportunity for God to be part of the relationship. “Let go, let God,” and listen.

Download as a Powerpoint (looks cut off, but is not when downloaded and printed), a pdf or a jpg. All print nicely on an 8.5 x 11 page. Expand it to an 11 x 17 piece of paper for more space (129%-135%).
Click:   pptx   or  pdf  or  jpg

Family Tree Advent Calendar

Family Advent Tree with Pictures 2014 resized

Celebration Cards

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I love using praying in color to make cards for birthdays, anniversaries, and celebrations. Doodling and drawing create a reflection & prayer time as well as a personal card at the end. Also I am overwhelmed by the zillions of choices on card racks in stores. After a 1/2-hour of looking, I walk out of the store with no card.

This card is for Eastern Shore Chapel, an Episcopal congregation in Virginia Beach that has been around since 1689. My husband was the rector (senior pastor) there for sixteen years. We lived in a church-owned house in the woods on the property. My favorite room was the screened-in porch; it was the birthplace for me of praying in color.

ESC 325th Anniversary2

Two Things I Have Learned (and a late, finished Advent calendar)

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Writing, writing, writing for the past two months…. A manuscript was due at the publisher six days ago. It’s getting there. (Do not panic, dear editor.) If the finished book will change my erratic blog-posting behavior, I do not know. March or April will tell.

Two practices continue to inform and enhance my life. I was going to say my “spiritual” life. Separating my “regular” life and my “spiritual” life is an unhelpful split. One day maybe the two will be one.

The two things I have learned are two practices:
1) Staying in bed for five or ten minutes when I wake up. Unconscious and conscious thoughts meet there. Prayers pop up. Answers to yesterdays dilemmas (or take-home math tests in the past) are there. Creative solutions to my writing problems surface. The soliloquy of my emerging nighttime self has things to tell me. I need to listen.

2) Writing three pages in my marble notebook before I do anything else. Even before I pray. (Okay, while the coffee is brewing.) I write anything that comes to mind. Some of those things might be events from the day before. More often they are ramblings, brainstorms, thoughts captured from the 5-minute lie-in before my feet hit the floor. I do this every day, even under the looming, finger-shaking February 1 deadline. The things I need to pray about are in the pages . Ideas for my present book and for a new one are in the pages. Complaints about writing the three pages are in the pages. Feelings I didn’t know I had are in the pages.

If my husband Andy is awake, he knows not to speak to me during this 20-25-minute exercise. It’s to his benefit. I am nicer and saner after I write, as if I’ve been to a Zumba® class or taken a long walk. As if I had my clogged brain cleaned out and plunged free. Writing this way is a spiritual exercise. Fifteen+ years after Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way told me to write three pages every day, I still do. She calls them the Morning Pages. I call them a goldmine.

Marble Notebook Feb 6, 2014

Advent 2013 Finished Calendar– Posted only 6 weeks late!

Advent 2013 resized