Walking on water
This is the second of a series of three paintings, which I created having completed the second 10 day retreat of the Spiritual Exercises. (The first can be found here). I painted it in 2019, when we were also about to embark on a new adventure, moving to the Wirral.
The second week of the Spiritual Exercises follows Jesus through his ministry, from the calling of the disciples to the many healings, the many parables and teachings. It is an opportunity for you to consider how you are called to be a disciple and what it means to follow Jesus. The majority of the exercises during this part of the retreat involve imagining yourself in the story. Here’s a quote from my journal where I record doing just that.
“I imagine the walking on water story. I am in the boat with the other disciples, tired but still talking about the day we’ve had. It’s dark, but someone spots a figure on the water, it’s like a ghost. I wanted to hide. But Jesus tells us it’s him. We breathe a sigh of relief, but before we know it, Peter is inviting Jesus to tell him to come. And Jesus says come. We’re all bewildered, but Peter steps out of the boat and starts walking on the water to Jesus. Then Peter’s brain appears to catch up with him, he gets scared and begins to sink. Jesus pulls him up, asking him ‘where’s your faith?’ And they both climb into the boat. We’re all silent, but Jesus tells us we have to trust him. We have to trust him and not think like the world does.”
Our new adventure to the Wirral became part of my retreat journey as I imagined what following Jesus might look like there. I ended the retreat in a place of faith, ready to walk on water, ready to do whatever Jesus called me to do in our new community. For each part of the spiritual exercises retreat, I created a painting as a reminder to myself of the time and the lessons I learned. For this second part of the retreat I chose to represent the walking on water story as I knew whatever I would do would take faith, and would be following Jesus.
The painting itself is a mix of the story of Jesus walking on the water, but also the location of where we were moving to. When I painted it, all I had were a few photos and a sketchy memory of the views, so the seascape I painted isn’t quite what is here in reality! In West Kirby, there is a marine lake, (which I’ve got Jesus and me walking on) and beyond it are Wales and three small islands (depending on which direction you look in). Even now, having lived here on the Wirral for six years, the painting reminds me that it is Jesus I am following, and that it takes faith to step out at times.