I married my love at Sand Harbor, Lake Tahoe, on October 1, 1977 … with a few of our closest friends. What a ride it has been!
This trilogy had its beginnings over forty years ago as I was driving across the Nevada desert to visit a friend. My toddler son was sleeping in the car seat behind me. Ideas—really interesting ideas—began to fill my mind, and later became stories that I would tell my son and his little brother as they grew up. I’ve shared them with other children along the way and had the joy of watching the stories change their hearts because stories have power—the power to explain big things in simple ways.
I already knew this “story-power” in my own life. One night, some fifty years ago, while I was attending college in Redlands, California, Nancy and Tim Burris took me to the beach for a campfire. They told me about Jesus and that He wanted me to know Him personally. My response was rude and arrogant. I asked them a lot of hard questions because I didn’t believe that Christians were anything more than naive “Bible-thumpers,” and there was no way I was going to become one of them. But Tim and Nancy were kind to me anyway, and their answers smacked of truth. They didn’t know it, but I did reach out to God that night. I said, “God, if You’re real, You’d better show me.” (I laugh at myself even as I write this. There was no repentance in my heart back then, but I was sincere. Since then, there have been so many reasons to ask His forgiveness.)
God heard me. Before two weeks were up, there was no doubt in my mind—God is real! He always was and always will be! Those two weeks were . . . Ah, well, that’s a story for another day. It’s enough to say that I did begin my journey with Jesus.
I must confess, I was very angry. I had gone to some “dead” churches during my childhood, and never once had they explained how much Jesus loved me and that He wanted to have a personal relationship with me. So, being the rebellious, headstrong college student that I was, I told God I was not going to church again; if He were real, He could tell me Himself!
And He did—through wonderful stories written by men and women who loved Him. I met Aslan of “The Narnia Chronicles,” little Much Afraid of “Hinds Feet on High Places,” and many other characters who came to life through the inspired imaginations and pens of Christian writers. And I was reading my Bible. Its stories began to come to life for me in vibrant color.
I didn’t know it at the time, but God would also begin to inspire me with ideas so much better than my own—ideas that I had to write down—ideas that would surprisingly mirror what is happening in our “real” world today, even though they were first written more than half a lifetime ago.
Yes, this is a Christian “allegory” about the end times, but please don’t try to squeeze it into too tight of a “prophetic” box. First of all, it’s a fantasy story. Just let the story unfold as it tells its tale. This book has been written for children of all ages. Please come into Pyrazo with an open mind. Come and meet Yosiah. Come search for Kathareon along with me!
Let our journey begin!
C.S. Fitzpatrick
P.S. My time away from church only lasted for a year. Later, God led me to many churches filled with wonderfully imperfect people—just like me—who love Jesus. It has been a good and exciting adventure—so many trials and so many blessings! What a ride! I wonder what path He has for you?!