Someone once told me—years ago, at a spiritual gifts seminar—that when they thought about me, they kept hearing the word herald.
That stuck.
A herald wasn’t the king. He wasn’t the hero of the story. He didn’t decide the message. His job was simpler—and harder than it sounds. He carried important news and declared it clearly. If he did his job well, people understood what mattered.
In a way, heralds were storytellers. Not because they made things up, but because they understood the weight of what they were carrying.
That resonates with me.
I see myself as a storyteller. I like noticing things. Connecting dots. Paying attention to moments that might otherwise slip by. And as a teacher, I’m trying to help students do the same—to tell their own stories with creativity and honesty, and to learn how to listen to the stories they read, watch, and hear.
Maybe my mission isn’t to be original at all costs.
Maybe it’s to tell the truth well.
To notice what’s worth saying.
To say it clearly.
And to help others find their own voice along the way.
Copyright © 2026 Doug DeBolt.
