Why Do I Write?

I was asked in an interview, “Why do you write?” My knee-jerk response surprised me! “I believe in the power of teaching by storytelling.” What? I’ve never thought of myself as a natural storyteller!” Upon reflection, however, I realized that most of my learning has occurred not from heavy text, but as revelation as I considered God’s word to me through a story. And not necessarily Christian stories. Then I realized that most of the musings in my mind were the result of listening to people, books, histories, tall tales, fairy tales, fiction and non-fiction, testimonies, celebrations, laments -- all stories of life that, if listened to well can take me into the presence of God and a better understanding of myself. Mark, the Gospel, says the Lord never taught publicly without using parables—stories. To those who drew close to Him and listened He explained the meaning. Why do I write? To tell meaningful stories; to emphasize the importance of listening within the story to myself, to the story's characters, to God. There really is power in teaching through storytelling, exemplified by the master storyteller Himself! Not a bad role model after all! 
See my stories "Little Pete's Great Big Life Lesson" and "A Miracle for Angelo" at dezeinerbooks.com.