Jewells of Thought

God was… and still is. There is nothing we can do that God doesn’t see or know before we do anything we are thinking or not of at the time. It is the beauty, simplicity and complexity of our God. This omniscient and omnipresent wonderful God Almighty has exploring tentacles of reach we cannot fathom in order to show us how much He cares for us an unconditional love. There is nothing He won’t do for us, He will leave his 99 sheep to find the missing stray.

The crazy idea of time travel is still fun for me to think about. I can’t accurately say how many times I wish I could have seen this being done; like signing the Declaration of Independence. I used to be able to recite the 56 signatories, but that still doesn’t show me the ink stains James Madison had on his hands or the fiery debates at Independence Hall. Yet if we didn’t have the oratorical skills and massive writing collections of our founders we wouldn’t have the amazing detail of our history. Also by means that I’m sure Rome had, that we still allude to in government, culture and romance of their era in a forgotten time… yet never forgotten by the Romans because they still live among that very history.

In this odyssey of sorts, not the historic martyr, but Cyprian the character eventually within the first book a wife and mother-in-law. Personally, I love his mother-in-law’s name, Magdalena. There is a melodic beauty to the name. Magdala was a village on the Sea of Galilee, and the name meant tower in Hebrew. Magdeline is an alternate spelling and in Greek means ‘woman from Magdala’. Magdalena is derived from ‘Maria of the Town Magdala’. One of the adjectives I have seen pertaining to this name is mellifluous. I learn something new everyday by the definition it’s a perfect word for this sweet name; having a smooth rich flow or filled with something that sweetens. An absolutely beautiful way to describe this character.

The wife of Cyprian is Lisbeth also an intriguing choice. There are variations; ‘God is abundance’, ‘God is my oath’ and ‘God has sworn’. From the Greek standpoint this name comes from the Hebrew Eleshiva. Another association with this name is high esteem a good word describing this 21st Century wife of Cyprian. These two women are equally important to the telling of this story. Twenty-four years. This is the number of years this mother and daughter were separated by time not death.

The finale of ‘The Way Home’ series comes to mind as I typed that last sentence. It literally gave me goosebumps as I watched that final minute of that episode. The question looming about…what if her brother didn’t die…what if he was taken by the lake to another century altogether?

Can you even imagine what that would feel like? Your mother disappears mysteriously, you believe her to be dead. Then all of a sudden, what happens is nothing short of God actually taking a hold of her and physically moving her into this predicament of being in the 3rd Century. Out of nowhere someone begins talking to you in English. When everyone else is speaking Latin and not until your face to face do you see the elephant in the room.

How do you deal with all the complications of something like this? Yes this is crazy, but are you mad at your mother or crying for joy? This isn’t just difficult for the daughter what about Magdalena? The child she had to give up essentially in order to survive as a 3rd Century woman for the past twenty-four years. After having read this series several times now I see how in the story this was God’s will to change the heart of a family.

Lisbeth and her father at the beginning of the first book have no time for anything but work. Specifically though, no time for Church. Magdalena as the mother had to be forced out of her routine and her safety to be completely alone to find what was missing in her life. It took me a while to see this clearly after my 3rd or 4th reading of the entire series.

Mothers are the towers in their families; specifically for the well-being of their families. Ms. Gentry weaved this story so intricately, like a mother would do, with such talents at her disposal for the ability to show others how God is always at work. God has undertaken as many efforts to reach you as possible. What would it truly take to get your attention?

Making the decision to read this series several times over takes a bit of spiritually getting ready. This is a challenge and it makes me challenge myself, but I have learned something from each read.

Do you appear to others as full of sweetness? Do you have high self-esteem? Is your relationship with your mother or daughter frayed at the seams? Have you ever asked yourself why? Do you want to be a tower for your children? You don’t have to lose everything to find God and become the tower for your children… and daughters need from their mother.