• Cross-Cultural,  Ethical Storytelling

    Normalizing Imperfect Stories

    What I love about cheesy Hallmark movies is that they are completely predictable. The pattern of each story is pretty much the same. In my own life, things seldom seem to go as planned. So it can feel good to spend a couple of hours in a world with no surprises, and a guaranteed happy ending. We love happy endings in stories told by nonprofit organizations or ministries, too. It feels great to read a story like, “This person was hungry, and you gave money to feed him, and now he is not hungry anymore,” or “This person was struggling, and you prayed for her, and she’s found freedom.” But…