Recently, I finished reading ‘The Gypsy Morph’ by Terry Brooks. If you’ve seen ‘The Shannara Chronicles’ on Netflix, Terry Brooks was the author, the imagination behind the world of Shannara. I’ve read quite a few of his books now, and I highly recommend them. I’m building up quite a collection with over half a bookshelf dedicated to them currently.
Anyway, in this book, one of the main characters – Hawk – has recently learned he is more than human. He is, in fact, a gypsy morph, which is a creature born of wild magic. This revelation was topped with a task: his job is to lead a large group of people of all races to a place that will become their new home and protect them from the end of the world.
‘The Gypsy Morph’ is the conclusion of a tale that has spanned two previous books, and even reading those, the tale of the boy leading his family to a new home seemed familiar.
Throughout the three books, hints of God and Bible stories were scattered throughout, and it is clear that Terry Brooks drew inspiration from the Bible. In the first book, ‘Armageddon’s Children’ the Knight of the Word, Logan Tom, comes across a community of believers who sing Amazing Grace. In the conclusion of ‘The Gypsy Morph’, a man prays. There are many other moments; even the fact that there is a Knight of the Word brings God to mind.
Two people in particular came to mind reading these books. The first was Moses. Hawk’s task to lead those people is reminiscent of Moses leading the Israelites to the Promised Land. The second person was Noah. God instructed Noah to build an ark to save Noah and his family and two pairs of every animal. Hawk may not have made an ark, but the parallel is that every kind of person, from the elves and humans to the lizards and spiders (these are mutated humans), every race was part of this journey so that while not everybody on the planet would be saved just like in Noah’s time, there would be some that survived the world’s destruction until it was safe to repopulate the Earth.
Like Moses, Hawk struggled with doubts and a lack of faith. However, this wasn’t always the case. In ‘Armageddon’s Children’ the Hawk we are introduced to is one of confidence; his purpose is clear, and he does it well. But some of that confidence has been lost since discovering his faerie heritage and the magic within him. He has a duty to lead and protect the people until they reach their destination, but it is there that problems begin to arise. They have enemies chasing them, weather issues, and doubts against his leadership from within. This is all on top of his mental struggles and magic struggles.
It is the magic within Hawk that is leading them to their safe haven, magic that is like an instinct. Hawk is walking blindly by faith because it is all he has to go on. He has been told he will feel when they reach their destination. Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? Now imagine how that feels to him on top of everything else. These people’s lives were at stake. Yet he does it anyway and succeeds.
We can learn a few things from ‘The Gypsy Morph.’ We should love deeply, helping where we can and even risking our lives to protect the ones we love if needed. We should build a community of people who care for us and love us. People who can keep us accountable. We should trust those who support us and believe in us over the ones who are quick to knock us down. But most of all, we should be like the Knights of the Word who trusted in it despite the circumstances. Just as they trusted the Word, so should we.
God has a plan, and when we walk by faith, we trust He will lead us to where we need to be. We trust that He will reveal each step and each direction we must take at the right time. When we doubt or delay, our thoughts and actions show that we don’t trust God. When we don’t even try, we won’t progress. Even a failed attempt shows we are trying and is a lesson for us to learn from. The Bible teaches us to never give up and keep our hope alive, for it is when we lose hope that we are truly lost.
‘This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.’
Romans 5:5
Wholeheartedly Faithul 
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