Image of God Pendants
I was at a weekend Prayer Retreat when I experienced something so moving, I knew, immediately, that I would use my clay in an effort to share its impact with others. The speaker was well educated in world religions and passionate about human spirituality, as a whole. He shared with our group that when the Hebrew Name of God, YHVH, yod-hey-vav-hey, typically pronounced, “Yahweh,” is written vertically, it takes the shape of a human being. He then had each of us pair off to face one another and draw the Hebrew Name of God on each other’s bodies, from our foreheads, down to our feet. While we each drew these Hebrew letters on the body of our neighbor and had them drawn on our own, we did so very slowly and thoughtfully, while our guest speaker invited us to see ourselves as the Name of God, the Image of God. He also encouraged us to see others in this same way, no matter what their belief system or how kind or hurtful they may be to us.
He told us of a Jewish legend that says each of us has an angel who walks before us calling out, “Behold the Image and Likeness of God” and invited us to see one another in this way, honoring our own angels, as well as those that accompany every human being around us. Because I wanted to keep this visual with me in a tangible way, I drew the Hebrew Name of God onto clay and created this pendant to be worn or carried as a reminder of the Image in which we are ALL created. When I visualize this symbol on myself and others, my heart opens up with gratitude and compassion for myself and all living things, rather than judgment and indifference. We are ALL treasures and I hope to share that message with you in this way. Having this pendant with me is a lovely reminder of the legend of the angel standing before each of us and everything in nature, announcing, “Behold the Image of God!”