A number of years ago I read two passages in Acts referring to a place by the name of Troas, a town on the western coast of Asia. The first passage (Acts 16:8) describes how Paul waited on Troas and received a vision from the Spirit directing him to go to Macedonia. The second (Acts 20:13) tells of a time at the end of Paul’s third missionary journey when he walked to Troas by himself before going to Jerusalem where he was imprisoned. It was this second occurrence that sparked my imagination.
It may be that he was meeting some people, it may be that he was sea sick, it may be that he needed a break from riding the boat, or it may be some other reason: it is a point on which Scripture is not clear. But as I thought about his two visits to Troas I wondered if he might have been taking the time to prepare himself for the days ahead.
Scripture is silent on a great many things, and rightfully so, for it is not a book about everything. But when it leaves things unsaid I begin asking questions and pondering answers. Often my way of wrestling through these thoughts and questions has been to write. With this passage my writing took the form of a journal entry as if Paul himself were writing it. I tried to imagine what he might be thinking about on this journey and I put to words the dialogue I imagined Paul had. It was certainly not well-written or brilliant, but it helped me think through both Paul’s life and my own.
It’s been many years since I first wrote that small piece, Journeys from Troas, and since that time I’ve processed other portions of scripture in the same way, rarely, however, putting any on paper. But recently I have started to record some of these stories. I find them to be a unique way for me to learn from the people of scripture as I seek to understand myself and my own struggles in life.
I hope these short stories are encouraging and even challenging to you.
I hope they help you to ask your own questions of Scripture.
I hope you might be inspired to write a few of your own.
And I hope they help guide you to the one whose presence is the answer to all of our questions.
Below are links to the few short scripture fiction stories I’ve posted: