The Blank Page

In a few days, I will walk out of an office that was my last connection to politics.

I've been in politics or politics-adjacent for 18 years, and I will NOT miss it.

But I will miss serving my community.

It’s very rewarding to help people when they’re in need.

And that’s tough to leave behind.

A friend asked me what’s next.

Even though I’m leaving state employment, I’m not retiring.

That would be awful for me.

The very thought makes me uncomfortable.

The idea of waking up with nothing to build feels less like freedom and more like drifting.

Paychecks, titles, and organizational charts have been necessary, but have never been my biggest motivators.

What has always motivated me is purpose.

For most of my life, that purpose arrived disguised as a job.

Sometimes I was writing grants.

Sometimes I was fundraising.

Sometimes I was marketing and telling the story of a public official, a nonprofit, a business, or an agency trying to make a difference.

The titles changed.

The mission never really did.

I was always telling stories.

I was helping people see value.

I was helping others appreciate why something or someone mattered.

I was at my best when I believed in what I was helping build.

Those were the stories I wanted to tell.

Those are the stories I still tell through The Divine in the Daily.

So here I am.

About to close a chapter.

Standing at the edge of a crisp, white, blank page.

The adventurer in me thinks that blank page is exciting.

The worrier in me has been calculating new health insurance costs, thinking about the end of direct deposits, and visiting Indeed more than once this week. 

Apparently, both versions of me are making this journey together.

I have no excuses now.

Meetings. Emails. Phone calls. Deadlines.

All the things that once competed for my attention will be gone.

Should be interesting.

So, my big plans and I have a date.

June 16, 2026.

The funny thing is, I’m not exactly sure where we’re headed.

Just a pretty good idea.

But I have faith. 

So, I. Am. Jumping.

I know there will be writing.

I know there will be Christ-centered work.

I know there will be The Divine in the Daily.

I know there will be stories.

Honestly, dare I ask for anything more wonderful than that?

Every chapter of my life has been preparing me for June 16, 2026.

For years, I thought I had taken a winding path.

Maybe that's true for most of us.

Perhaps we all reach a point where we look in the rearview mirror and realize the detours weren’t really detours.

The jobs.

The heartbreaks.

The friendships.

The disappointments.

The unexpected turns.

What if they were all leading somewhere?

What if the path only looks crooked while we’re walking it?

And what if it becomes straight only when we look back?

So yes, I’m standing at the edge of a new chapter.

But for a storyteller, that isn’t something to fear.

It’s a grand invitation written on fancy paper.