So You Will Know
Sometimes, to connect, you must slow down. Engage your patience. Deliberately engage your patience. So you will know.
In September, my husband and I will visit Iona. I say the name and expect my listener to light up in wonder and appreciation. Sometimes they do, sometimes not. Iona is an island off the coast of Scotland. It’s actually an island off an island that’s off the mainland of Scotland. It’s assuredly in the Atlantic Ocean. Iona is part of the archipelago of the Inner of Hebrides. The isles of Skye and Mull are part of this archipelago, if you’ve heard of them. Iona is small. The population is 177. The central feature is the abbey. I am going to the abbey on a Celtic Christianity pilgrimage with people I love.
To prepare, my husband and I are reading So You Will Know by Ellen Gabardi. Ellen Gabardi is a poet, spiritual director, and writing guru. She visited Iona, and she wrote this book about it. She then gave me a copy of the book as a gift.
The book replicates what I imagine to be the rhythm of the island. It repeats, gently, and repeats again. Ellen (who was one of the awesome Ellens at the When We Were Murderous Time-Traveling Women Ellenpalooza) suggests the book was written to be read aloud. So that’s what my husband and I are doing. Right before bed. Reading it aloud. Two pages at a time. We are loving it.
So far, we have had gentle pages of the lambs, the abbey, the crosses, the stones. It is making me love Iona before we have arrived.
Even if you have no plans to go to Iona, if you want to go on a pilgrimage to peace, you can find it in So You Will Know.
You can read more of Ellen’s work—and buy her beautiful “To Hold It All” book of poetry—at her Substack.
Joe Hawes
been there. loved it. expect you will too.
Ellen Morris Prewitt
I am beginning to get excited…
Emma Connolly
When I went to Scotland alone in 2024, my travels included a day on the Isle of Iona. Once I maneuvered past the gift shops and restaurants (which I expected to appear), there was a sense of entering a gate to peace and holiness. I was most impressed with the ruins of the nunnery and the ancient images I found over the windows. I will also never forget the 8th century grave slabs housed in the Abbey itself. I arrived at one of the chapels on the road to the Abbey in the midst of a service of chanted liturgy, mesmerizing. Before you go, be sure to read some of the history of the Vikings and the various cultures that have either settled there or took over the people who were there. Very interesting history to know before you go. Oh, and the crabs caught around that island are as big as dinner plates!
Ellen Morris Prewitt
That sounds, literally, divine. Ellen’s book did talk about pillaging, or something similar. All in all, the book has made me more interested in what I will encounter there. Thanks for the tip on researching the history–we’ve been reading the history of Celtic christianity, but not the history of the land. 👍
Donna Weidner
I ❤️ Iona! And Scotland as well for that matter. Enjoy!
Ellen Morris Prewitt
Oh, yay! Wonder if I’ll see dragons? 🙂