Intersection Column | A Surrendered Fight

by Jamie Ogle

When I was four years old, I saw the nearly four-hour-long, 1956 masterpiece, The Ten Commandments. I was immediately obsessed with it and Charlton Heston, and was thereafter, the easiest kid to babysit so long as that movie was in the vicinity. I watched it countless times. Named my baby doll Moses. Hid him all over the house in my mom’s breadbasket. Ben Hur became another favorite later on, and then Gladiator as a young adult. I was completely captivated by stories of good rebels fighting back the darkness for a cause greater than themselves. So I suppose it’s not too surprising that I write stories set in the Roman Empire, featuring courageous men and women of faith who rebel against the evil of their world.

In a far less dramatic fashion, the idea for Daughter of the Rebellion was delivered to me on a lunchroom platter.

As I sat down for lunch during our kids’ homeschool co-op day, offering up a silent plea that God would direct me to the story He wanted me to write next, another mom swooped into the seat across from me.

“Do you know how the gladiator games ended?” She was so excited.

And I was about to fail a pop history quiz.

I shook my head. Despite enjoying Gladiator, I didn’t spend much time studying the games or even considering them story material. Where exactly does the light come in when the place is so dark, violent, and evil?

This mom nearly exploded out of her skin in enthusiasm. “Then you have got to hear the story of Telemachus! It’s my favorite story ever!” And as she proceeded to narrate the jaw-dropping account of a man passionate about the love of God and the sanctity of human life, I was overwhelmed with the sense that God was smiling as He handed the answer to my prayer over a plastic lunch table.

Little did I know, the story that would pour out was one where every ounce of striving, compromise, and self-reliance lands the characters in deeper trouble until their problems are mountainous, impassable. Impossible. But it’s also a story where God shows up, on page after page, showcasing sacrificial, pursuing love that doesn’t give up or grow weary, but reaches into the dark places to rescue and restore.

The heroine in Daughter of the Rebellion is Adelgard (Adel) a broken warrioress captured by the Roman army and sold to a gladiator school in Rome (Yes, there really were female gladiators!). As she wrestles with her worth and tries to find it in her accomplishments, she stumbles into a reluctant friendship with a medic who feels he must compromise his beliefs for security (these two bring the best banter to the page!). In an attempt to rescue captives and end the gladiator games, they join forces with a passionate monk hiding a dark past, and discover that sometimes the hardest battle we face is the one we’re supposed to surrender.

This book is close to my heart. As much as it’s a story of taking action on behalf of others, it’s overwhelmingly a story of trust and surrender in a sovereign God. God’s ways are not our ways; His thoughts are not our thoughts. And despite our failings, He loves us deeply.

I hope readers enjoy the thrills of this story, but far more than that, I hope they turn the final page with a deeper understanding of God’s unfailing love for every person made in His image, and of the truth that one person living in surrender to His will, can change the world.

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About the Author

Jamie Ogle is a predawn writer, homeschool mom by day, and a reader by night. Inspired by her fascination with the storied history of faith, she writes historical fiction infused with hope, adventure, and courageous rebels. A Minnesota native, she now lives in Iowa with her husband and their three children, and she can usually be found gardening, beekeeping, and tromping through the woods. Learn more about Jamie at jamieogle.com.

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About the Book

In this stirring historical romance by award-winning author Jamie Ogle, a young woman imprisoned in a Roman gladiator school becomes a legendary warrior. But when not even her fame is enough, she must fight to save herself and those she loves.