Written by Kevin Moore, Author of Christmas Stories Volume 2
I learned how to pray at the age of three, but I didn't know then that my mother was leading me into a lifelong conversation with God. I followed her as she moved through our railroad apartment, and for each person she named, and although I didn't understand the meaning at the time, I still do now. I prayed for the knowledge and wisdom I seek. This was just the beginning of my journey into what I now understand as “God's language,” a unique and personal form of communication that differs from person to person.
When I was six years old, I discovered that I could talk to God without saying a word while sleeping on the hood of a car. As the early fall sun warmed my face, the sounds of children playing stickball, skateboarding, and hopscotch filled the air in my New York City neighborhood. I wandered between wakefulness and sleep, experiencing states where half of my mind was resting and the other half awake. This is similar to hemispheric sleep in whales and dolphins. The voices and laughter around me fell like autumn leaves, preparing me for an inner calm I had never known before.
At that moment, I didn't have the vocabulary to explain what was happening, but in hindsight I realized I was meditating. Prayer is a way to talk to God, while meditation is a way to listen. For the first time in a world filled with chaos, I felt something so much more than myself, more than my family, my school, my church, and even my government. It was a universal truth and recognition. Whether you call it God, Source, the Universe, or any other name, there is something bigger than all of us. Great I am always trying to communicate with us. Finding your own language and finding your own way of communicating with and hearing God is a deeply personal journey that belongs only to you.
Exploring this spiritual language has been one of the greatest joys of my life. It's a journey that no one else can direct for you. It's about opening yourself to that communication and truly listening, whether you're tending flowers in the garden, floating in the water, or sitting in church. My relationship with God has grown through practices such as mantras, traditional prayers, singing, Transcendental Meditation, yoga, and the use of people in my life.
As a storyteller, spirituality is essential to my characters, as important as eye color or where they come from. Whether they are introduced as a believer, an atheist, or an agnostic, the presence of God and spirituality is there, even if it is not. It is about revealing the character's relationship with God, including feelings of awakening, anger, and abandonment. I have experienced all of these emotions in my life and yet I continue to listen and seek connection. I learned that God is not a genie in a lamp, but is here to fulfill our every wish. The power of prayer can cause miracles, often in ways we didn't expect, but deeply need. After all, who knows what you need better than God?
Discovering my own language with God has been an amazing journey that has enriched my life and found its way into my writing. I find great joy in weaving this spiritual awakening into my story. There, even the most unlikely characters can experience deep changes caused by seemingly insignificant or unusual events.
Writing the second volume of A Christmas Story allowed me to delve deeper into these themes. The Christmas season, rich in meaning in the Christian faith, provides the perfect backdrop to explore life, love, and spirituality. It is a time of giving and gathering, where joy and magic mix with memories of the past, both happy and sad. For me, Christmas has always been a season of warmth and wonder, even though it brings sadness. My mother passed away two days before Christmas after a long battle with breast cancer when I was a teenager. Her loss greatly impacted my ability to fully enjoy this season until I had a child and reawakened myself to my personal spiritual journey.
Christmas embodies hope, love, and renewal, making it a powerful setting for exploring these themes in my writing. My hope is that readers encounter these spiritual truths in a way that feels authentic and alive, without being preachy. In my Christmas stories, in my previous books, and in my upcoming books (The Book of Souls, Awakening Sleeping Beauty), I aim to evoke something in my readers. It can be a sense of hope, a deeper understanding, or a new connection with God.
After all, it's not just about the answers we find, but the questions we keep asking. Perhaps the biggest lesson is that by exploring, we discover more than we ever imagined.
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