Epiphany

Epiphany means manifestation, a sudden seeing, a revealing, an understanding of truth.  The three Wise Men from the East followed the star to the Bethlehem stable where they saw and worshiped the Son of God.  They recognized him. Our Lord Jesus was made manifest to the greater world in this moment we celebrate as the Feast of the Epiphany.  God revealed himself on this day, and continues to reveal himself.

He reveals himself to each of us, and I, in gratitude and joy, seek to make manifest what I see.  I want to share the epiphanies granted me, those golden glimpses into real reality.

So I create characters, and in my godlike fashion, breathe upon them life as best I can, praying for help from the great Creator.  Once created, these men and women reside in my brain, waiting to be born onto a page so that others will know them too.

I was blessed to have my fourth novel published last month.  Hana-lani is about a young woman’s epiphany, her seeing into her own life and her seeing those around her.  It is about our culture seeing as well – understanding itself, where it is going.  It is about seeing the signposts along the way, making the right, correct, turns.

So the characters of Hana-lani, like my Trilogy (Pilgrimage, Offerings, Inheritance) have been born, made real upon a white page, and now are seen by readers around the world.  My epiphanies have become my readers’ epiphanies, or so I would hope.  I have had the chance to share my golden glimpses, a great privilege.

And now in the beginning of this year, 2011, I return to writing my fifth novel, The Magdalene Mystery, whose characters are growing and developing, interacting with one another, seeking and being sought, trying to see.  They are anxious to be on the page, to breathe.

I shall move through my days with open eyes and ears, watching and listening, looking for signs that will map my story truthfully.  I shall say my prayers with the great community of believers, the Body of Christ, the Church.  I shall share my epiphanies, hoping they reflect the great Epiphany, the revealing of God in Bethlehem two thousand years ago.