What Comes Next: The Storyteller and the Stories Still to Be Told

Today I find myself reflecting on the Via Dolorosa — the path of suffering, the road that represents the moment divinity stepped into the human story to reclaim what had been lost.

To me, Christ is real. That is my truth, shaped by experience, reflection, and faith.
But if you are here and your understanding of the world comes from a different place, you are welcome in this space. Stories have always been how humanity searches for meaning, and every person arrives with their own interpretation of what is true.

What cannot be denied is that human beings have always carried a tendency toward conflict. We divide, we argue, we defend our positions as if survival depends on it. Perhaps this comes from the polarity that seems woven into existence itself — opposing energies, opposing ideas, opposing agendas constantly pushing against one another.

Yet at the same time, we willingly give our attention to stories.
We believe in narratives found in books, films, and legends.
We allow fictional worlds to teach us courage, sacrifice, loyalty, and love.

If we can learn from stories we know were imagined, then it is worth asking what we can learn from the book that has endured longer than any other.

The Bible, the most widely distributed book in human history, tells the story of a figure at the head of a divine order who stepped out of his own reality and entered ours.
Not to dominate.
Not to conquer.

But to demonstrate humility, self-sacrifice, and restraint.

That kind of restraint is not weakness.
It is strength under control.

When I look at the current state of our world, I often wonder what things would look like if we followed the example remembered on that road — the one moment that still serves as a rare point of unity across much of Christianity worldwide, the Via Delarosa.

What would change if humility carried more weight than pride?
What would happen if power meant responsibility instead of control?

These are the kinds of questions that stay with me now more than ever. I believe our voices matter, and so do the thoughts we allow to live in our minds. What we imagine often shapes the direction we walk. Some people carry a clear picture of the future they hope for. Others feel guided by faith, believing they hear the voice of the Lord and understand the heart of God. And many feel overwhelmed by the world around them, uncertain of what comes next, yet still wanting a future for themselves and for their children.

In times like these, the narrative we hold in our minds becomes important. Sometimes the first step forward is learning to quiet the voices that only create fear. Not every message deserves our attention, and not every idea deserves to take root in our thinking.

For those who believe in the Word, there is a passage that speaks about casting down imaginations, refusing to let destructive thoughts take control. There is also the story of David, who looked at the giant before him and asked, Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that dares to stand against the knowledge of our God?
It was not arrogance that gave him courage, but conviction.

I find myself wondering if we should be asking the same kind of question today.
Not out of anger, but out of clarity.
Not out of fear, but out of the desire to protect what still matters.

Sometimes the battle for the future begins in the mind, and the story we choose to believe may shape the world we leave behind.

For most of my life, I lived one story.
For twenty-eight years, I worked as a nurse, caring for people in moments when life felt fragile and uncertain.
That chapter shaped me in ways I will never regret.

But somewhere underneath that life, another story was waiting.

I believe I was born a writer.
A poet.
A storyteller.

And now, after decades of living one path, I find myself walking another — not because it is easier, but because it feels like the one I came here to follow.

I have several books available through the sites listed on my website, and each one is written with the hope that the reader walks away with a new perspective on at least one defining moment in life. If you read one of my books after visiting this blog, I would love to hear from you. Please leave a note or a review and share how the story impacted you.

Stories are meant to be told, but they are also meant to be received — and every reader becomes part of the story once they do.