Everything represents a story – you, me, us – each has a story. The universe tells a story, so much more than a series of accidentally atom formation. Our existence is a story, so much more than a planned, manipulated discourse that forces us to follow the pattern each day without even thinking about it.

We are after all more than our mere stories, or are we not?

Every day we play the main character in our own narratives. The themes often interspersed with small words such as "I", and "me". We strive to write our stories, using words such as honesty, truth, fairness and love but, paradoxically, at the end of the day we are caught in the mirror reflecting dark and hidden corners of our hearts. It catches us unawares and forces us to realise that our stories are also interspersed with truths such as selfishness, dishonesty and regret.

Some of us have happy stories. Others have bitter stories. Yet others have extremely painful stories. None of these stories take place in isolation. We are co-actors in a myriad of stories each day. It seems that the part where our stories fit into the bigger picture gives them meaning. How we fit into the plan and be all that the Big Author planned for us, is a seemingly eternal task.

Another thing that our stories does, is to move us, to motivate us and even to force us to act. There is something that makes stories different from mere cold numbers. Stories seem to be data with soul. This is something that the Master Story Teller also knew. His stories of the Prodigal Son, the Sower and so many more, influenced our own stories over centuries. Those stories moved us, motivated us and forced us to act. It helped us understand the big mystery. They became our guide and compass to help us create our own narratives. From these stories I deduct that we are not merely foreigners and mere followers on this planet. It seems that our efforts to insert ourselves in others’ stories form part of understanding. It helps to find meaning in our own journeys and it is part of what we have to do while we are here. Each story that features us as co-actors and that tells the values of the Man of the Cross, means that the Child of the Manger is born again and again. Those are the moments that give meaning. They give meaning to our own stories and within the stories of others.

This newsletter is filled with stories - stories of happiness, stories of bitterness, stories of pain and stories that cover all other emotions that form part of the unbelievable scripts that tell the stories of our lives. I include the stories, hoping that they will touch your hearts and give insight into your own stories.