BookWenches

‘Tis the Season
by Naima Simone

Christmas. 

Good cheer. Family. Gay wrappings and brightly decorated trees. Love and kindness—frugal commodities for much of the year—are given liberally during December. For many of us it’s the time of year we designate to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It’s when we remember how the savior, God’s gift of deliverance and freedom to the world, descended from heaven and came to earth. But so much more than the gifts and the songs and the lights, Christmas is a season of faith and hope.

O Come All Ye Faithful. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. Silent Night. Songs that herald the power of a people’s faith. During the time of the Israelites’ captivity in Babylon, God promised a Messiah that would deliver them from their captors. A Messiah who would sit them as kings over a kingdom that would last forever.  

As the children of Israel never forgot God’s Word, neither did the kings who ruled them. Through the many years of their captivity these kings observed a people, who in spite of their circumstances maintained their faith in a God who had never forsaken them. He gave them joy in the midst of turmoil. It was why they could sing songs of Zion as slaves. They thrived because they held onto that which they could not see but hoped for. Even though they did not worship God, the kings feared the Israelites’ unwavering belief in Him. Because of this King Herod ordered the deaths of all male children under the age of three to avert the prophecy of their deliverer. This was the climate Jesus was born in. One of terror, intimidation and persecution. His birth meant a death sentence.  

During this time, three Eastern scholars who studied the skies and were knowledgeable of the Messiah prophecy, beheld the Star of David that hung in the night sky like a beacon.  

A beacon of hope.

These men, these wise men, traveled a far distance with precious gifts for the future King of the Jews. Even while undertaking the journey they didn’t possess irrefutable proof that they would find the Messiah foretold in the scriptures. Yet, they followed the star of hope. Upon arriving at the tiny stable where the Son of God lay in a manger, these wealthy men fell to their knees and worshipped him. And the bible says their treasures were opened.  

As writers, published and aspiring-to-be-published, we cling to hope. Like the wise men, we seek that which we can’t see or hold in our hands. We face a climate of economical turmoil, rejection, disappointments and small percentages. Our future success is uncertain, but our faith and hope is based on something unseen and so much bigger than ourselves. We believe that at the end of our journey will be the promise—the dream we’ve worked and studied and prepared for…and are holding on to. 

Hope.  

It is that burning light in our chests that keeps us persevering in the face of insurmountable odds. As writers hope is the voice that says I know only two percent of new authors are given contracts every year, but I have confidence in this gift of words and an expectation of success.  

The three wise men found the promise of the Christ because they followed hope and faith. If we follow our faith and keep our hope, like these men, at the end of our journey our treasures will be opened.

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Naima Simone, an active member of RWA’s Southern Magic Chapter, has been an avid reader all her life. When she finally decided to drag her manuscripts from under her mattress and seriously pursue a career in writing, she discovered she had a lot to learn. Through the mentoring of fellow authors—published and unpublished—her first erotic romantic suspense with Ellora’s Cave Publishing, “Sweet Ultimatum” was released on October 23, 2009. Come visit her at http://www.naimasimone.com/ and http://www.naimasimoneauthor.blogspot.com/!