Unlike Tía Rosa who risked her life to rescue a portion of God’s Word and kept it safe during the darkest days of the Inquisition, Naomi was ashamed, for she never chose to become the person she was. With everything that defined her now stripped away by one she had pledged to help, like she had done for so many niñas before this one that Naomi had lost count, this woman whom all in El Barrio thought of as a saint, finally admitted to herself that though she had been admired by all, she had not become the person she fled Spain to be.
Now even her husband, Chaz loathed her. Though she had lived in this casa half of her life, her years spent taking care of Madre Vida, and then when asked, giving up her life so the ministry she profited from would continue, and having married a man who told her that his love would last until ‘the twelfth of never’, she felt that providing a safe haven for girls facing deportation, and running the market so those in her community who needed jobs had them was worthless.
But then again, she thought, perhaps it is me that is worthless. After all, I have acquired nothing… nothing except a broken heart. Why, should I be treated this way for doing as I was taught? No! That is not true; she rallied at herself for she had known when she agreed to her American Madre’s request to become the next Las Niñas Tía that marriage, in fact anything akin to a personal commitment was something, she like the Tías before her could not, would not do. Aware of the secrets she came to America to escape but never had, Naomi had known that a single life was the only one allowed her. As for falling in love, she had known that it could be her undoing. However, she had put her faith in Chaz who promised he would love her ‘until the twelfth of never.’ The twelfth of never’, never happened, she admitted as tears threatened to fall. She scolded herself, what does it matter… all will shun me now...
~~~
Choosing To Be
The Naomi Chronicles
By Paula Rose Michelson
Naomi was on her way to America, to meet her family, when, first, the family with whom she traveled had fired her when the elderly woman for whom she cared had died, and then when the U.S. Immigration stopped her from entering America. Not having anybody to guide her, she had followed the woman, Madre Vida, who said she would help, as she did with other ninas. Naomi never dreamed, however, that she would be pulled into this woman's life and ultimately asked to take over when she became ill and died.
With all that had happened, she realized that she would never marry, as did the former Tias before her... But then Chaz, one of the visitors to the casa, had come back to thank her and they fell in love. Still, Naomi had not shared the secret that her family had told her to keep forever...to keep herself safe, she must never let it be known that she was a Jew. So she wed without telling her husband...
Until one of the Ninas had searched her background, discovered her secret, and told everybody!
Choosing to Be is the story after this revelation. Chaz had been shocked and left her... Naomi was heartbroken and knew there was now no place for her in the place where she had live so long.
The personal stories During this time for Naomi and Chaz are amazingly similar and yet so unique that readers feel as if they have met each one and was at the place where each stayed after their tragic separation, so that we come to know their thoughts, their hearts, their hopes...and their new relationship with the Messiah...
Naomi had lost everything and found herself remembering the past and where she now was.
But the worst part was losing Chaz, especially after he had promised so much--that he would care for her forever... Then he turned from her and walked away!
But there were a few who stayed true to Naomi and they went to her and explained they wanted to take her away and stay with their family... And that's when she met Ruth... who was not like any Jewish woman she'd ever met... Especially when she started sharing about her beliefs...
“I do not believe that! If you are a Jew, then you are called to walk with him, as you put it.”“Well, yes, but do you really think the God, the God of Abraham, of Isaac and Jacob meant for only us Jews to know him?”
“Now you are talking foolishness! Our God is only for us. If that were not the case, we would not be hated as God’s Chosen People!”
Together with a charming little boy who grew close to her and willingly talked about his own feelings... This character lightened the many conversations she held as she struggled to learn...
“It is as if I have been walking in my own way and calling it his,” she said before she knew she was speaking.
“Yep! Gamma always says we should ‘… walk in His way an’ lean not on our own understandin’… but in all our ways acknowledge Him an’ He will make our paths straight.’”
“You have a wise grandmother.”
“No, Nomi. We have a great God. These aren’t Gamma’s words. They’re his.”
~~~
Such a beautiful, intriguing story!
But Chaz's story was every harder to share. For he had found out he, too, was Jewish and that it had been kept a secret, for his own protection, by his family. How difficult it was to discover such a thing just after he had turned away from his new, beloved wife! His family realized that he could not understand why they had kept his heritage a secret, so they sent him to talk with his uncle...
Interestingly, he was working an archaeological site and this added a certain excitement to the novel...because a new find was made! But the more he learned, the more he knew he had to return to Naomi...for he, too, had found
Him.
“All right, children!” Dorothea raised and lowered her hands. “We begin on the count of three, one, two, and three.” The music began followed by them singing the words,
“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God…”
Chaz awoke. “Am I hearing the music and voices of angels?” He glanced around and noticed the children’s blankets had no children in them.
Before he could search for them, they laughingly exclaimed, “No, we are not angels! Come join us. We are at the other side of the water truck. Come. We have roasted marshmallows and are making some s’mores. If you like you can have some.”
~~~
This is the most emotional and illustrative of the Biblical scripture studies of the books thus far and certainly provides a learning experience of the potential scripture and guidance that people may need to find the Messiah. They discovered that much was said about Jesus in the Jewish Bible, but had never been explained and taught.
But was their new relationship with God, with The Messiah, enough to bring Naomi and Chaz back together and to return to their home to live? Review of the next book coming tomorrow. This book and the series are highly recommended.
GABixlerReviews
When not involved in writing, speaking or helping other writers, Paula Rose Michelson pursues other passions while supporting her husband Ron who is a Lutheran Pastor and Chosen People Ministries field missionary. At one point she and her spouse worked for the mission. However, her desire to write for the Lord full time lead her to leave that work so she could devote herself to this work.
This mother of two married daughters and grandmother of seven has been known to weave such wonderful tails that sometimes those involved lose track of the time. At her core, both family and her ever increasing reader family matter to Paula, so while writing to entertain, she hopes to impart a blessing to those who read her fictions and nonfiction's.
Some who first knew this author as the founder, head, and facilitator of LAMB Ministries, have mentioned that a few of those teachings are found within her books. Paula knows this to be true for her desire to faithfully depict Gods love, compassion, and forgiveness while showing her readers The Jewish Messiah of Israel and the world parallel her desire to see those precious wounded ones restored to wholeness, so within each of her books, she includes a few of her biblically based teachings so others can overcome and feel good about themselves.
Bibliography
Footnote: Paris, Erna, The End of Days, pg 306–306, Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 1995.
Cohen, Dr. Martin A. The Martyr-The Story of a Secret Jew and the Mexican Inquisition in the Sixteenth Century: The Jewish Publication Society, 1973.
Columbus, Christopher: The Book of Prophecies, Edited by Christopher Columbus, Repertorium Columbianum, V. 3 Hardcover.
Gitlit, David M., Secrecy and Deceit, The Religion of the Crypto-Jews Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 1996.
Gitlitz, David M. and Linda Kay Davidson, A Drizzle of Honey-The Lives and Recipes of Spain’s Secret Jews, New York: St. Martins Griffin, 1999.
Lazarus, |FCO|goog_qs-tidbit goog_qs-tidbit-0Emma, The New Colossuss, written in 1883, in 1903, engraved on a bronze plaque and mounted inside the Statue of Liberty|FCC|.
Liebman Jacobs, Janet, Hidden Heritage-The Legacy of the Crypto-Jews. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002.
Sanchez, Dell F., Aliyah! The Exodus Continues, San Jose: Authors Choice Press, 2001.
Wiesenthal, Simon. Sails of Hope, Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1973.
Yours in Messiah <>< God choose the foolish things to shame the wise ~ 1 Cor. 1:27
Paula Rose Michelson: LAMB Ministries since 1988 using biblical tools to help women suffering from trauma & abuse
Author of Christian Inspirational Fiction, Nonfiction & Self-Help from a Messianic Jewish Perspective her Kindle eBooks are at: http://amzn.to/1z8ydzA
Connect with Paula on Facebook on.fb.me/1OY8UIB Twitter @PaulaWordsmith1 Blog http://writingpaularose.blogspot.com,
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