Little One was born in the Golden Fields, in a little thatched house amidst the sunlit wheat. It was there she first saw the Living One—a young man with mysterious, laughing eyes. She could not take her eyes away from him. And one day, when he disappeared over the mountains, she followed.
The journey is perilous and full of unexpected loneliness, pain, and hardship. Worst of all, Little One is journeying without a heart—the Living One has taken it with him, leaving her bereft of real comfort until she can find it again. But glimmers of beauty on the way remind her that, in the end, the journey will be worth it all.
“Journey” is a short story and an allegory in the tradition of Pilgrim’s Progress.
Rachel Starr Thomson is also the author of Taerith, the Seventh World Trilogy (Worlds Unseen, Burning Light, and Coming Day), and other novels and short stories.
Rachel Starr Thomson is in love with Jesus and convinced the gospel will change the world.
Rachel is a woman of many talents and even more interests: she’s a writer, editor, indie publisher, singer, speaker, Bible study teacher, and world traveler. The author of the Seventh World Trilogy, The Oneness Cycle, and many other books, she also tours North America and other parts of the world as a speaker and spoken-word artist with 1:11 Ministries.
Adventures in the Kingdom launched in 2015 as a way to bring together Rachel’s explorations, in fiction and nonfiction, of what it means to live all of life in the kingdom of God.
Rachel lives in the beautiful Niagara Region of southern Ontario, just down the river from the Falls. She drinks far too much coffee and tea, daydreams of visiting Florida all winter, and hikes the Bruce Trail when she gets a few minutes. A homeschool graduate from a highly creative and entrepreneurial family, she believes we’d all be much better off if we pitched our television sets out the nearest window.
LIFE AND WORK (BRIEFLY) Rachel began writing on scrap paper sometime around grade 1. Her stories revolved around jungle animals and sometimes pirates (they were actual rats . . . she doesn’t remember if the pun was intended). Back then she also illustrated her own work, a habit she left behind with the scrap paper.
Rachel’s first novel, a humorous romp called Theodore Pharris Saves the Universe, was written when she was 13, followed within a year by the more serious adventure story Reap the Whirlwind. Around that time, she had a life-changing encounter with God.
The next several years were spent getting to know God, developing a new love for the Scriptures, and discovering a passion for ministry through working with a local ministry with international reach, Sommer Haven Ranch International. Although Rachel was raised in a strong Christian home, where discipleship was as much a part of homeschooling as academics, these years were pivotal in making her faith her own.
At age 17, Rachel started writing again, this time penning the essays that became Letters to a Samuel Generation and Heart to Heart: Meeting With God in the Lord’s Prayer.
In 2001, Rachel returned to fiction, writing what would become her bestselling novel and then a bestselling series–Worlds Unseen, book 1 of The Seventh World Trilogy.
A classic fantasy adventure marked by Rachel’s lyrical style, Worlds Unseen encapsulates much of what makes Rachel’s writing unique: fantasy settings with one foot in the real world; adventure stories that explore depths of spiritual truth; and a knack for opening readers’ eyes anew to the beauty of their own world–and of themselves.
In 2003, Rachel began freelance editing, a side job that soon blossomed into a full-time career. Four years later, in 2007, she co-founded Soli Deo Gloria Ballet with Carolyn Currey, an arts ministry that in 2015 would be renamed as 1:11 Ministries. To a team of dancers and singers, Rachel brought the power of words, writing and delivering original narrations, spoken-word poetry, and songs for over a dozen productions. The team has ministered coast-to-coast in Canada as well as in the United States and internationally.
Rachel began publishing her own work under the auspices of Little Dozen Press in 2007, but it was in 2011, with the e-book revolution in full swing, that writing became a true priority again. Since that time Rachel has published many of her older never-published titles and written two new fiction series, The Oneness Cycle and The Prophet Trilogy.
Over 30 of Rachel’s novels, short stories, and nonfiction works are now available in digital editions. Many are available in paperback as well, with more released regularly.
The God she fell in love with as a teenager has remained the focus of Rachel’s life, work, and speaking.
Journey is a short story that will take you on a mini emotional journey. It was yet another short that I got for free by signing up for an email list, and it was SO GOOD. It reminded me a lot of Pilgrim's Progress, and was such a spiritual jolt to me.
I cried. I'm a 52-year old single dad of teens and principal of a private school so I can do lots of emotional moments without outward signs. 😐 I'm not overly prone to crying, but this one got me! Wow...
A beautiful Allegory in short story form. We can all identify with Little One and her Journey, though all instances of what she went through may not be exactly what we go through in our struggle to obtain eternal life. Even so it is very true to life. Rachel Starr Thomson has a special gift and I recommend this book as one you can read often to receive encouragement for your every day journey.