RISE AGAIN FINISH STRONG

What happens to your mind the first time someone catches your attention—at the grocery, church, school, workplace, or street? Have you ever had a cause to ask, "What's your story?"
You see, great or small, each person you encounter in life has a story. There are no exceptions to this rule; your janitor or that favorite celebrity showing up flawless on TV; the homeless guy, or that politician speaking at the local town hall meetings to a crowd of supporters and haters—we all have our stories.

What's your story? We all have a story, whether simple or complex—it shapes who we are and who we have become. Obviously, we cannot know everyone's story. We have all endured intricate combinations of highs and lows in life. For some, they've been happy and excited about the future. For others, life feels empty and harsh to them for as long as they can remember.  Yet, others can still get up and go to school, clock in at work, jog in the park or prepare meals for their screaming toddlers.
Always remember that everybody's story is valuable; yours and mine mean a lot to us. Our story is still on the reel, and it is still ongoing. What will it look like in six months or three years? Will I still be where I am? What about that break I always wanted? Am I finally gaining a promotion to be the CEO of this company? 

You're reading this book not because I wrote it to impress or depress you but to share my side of life's story; perhaps someone can find trails I left as I navigated the mire of life's challenges as a worthy example. I've had my wins and losses, but in all, I am my story—happy days or otherwise.
We all have unique stories, and some of the events are peculiar to us alone. It may look unreal to others, but it is our story. It is real to you. You lived in that city, went to that school, played with those children, and that aunt of yours was always special to you.

Rise Again and Finish Strong is my response to a divine call. Anyone can rise again and seek to finish strong. I’ve endured crippling self-doubt, and many questions have raced through my head regarding why I'm writing a book with such an audacious title. As I sit in my study, peeling off thoughts I've borne for so long in my heart, I wonder: Why should I trust anyone with this story? What if no one cares? Or worse still, they might think I want pity. Would anyone even understand the pain that comes with revisiting the scars of my past? How can I expect to resurrect hope in the hopeless and refuel the weary just by sharing my portion of this bite called life?
It is natural for people to hide their fears, failures, and hurts. No one wants the other person to see him as weak and vulnerable.
Have you tripped over life’s obstacles and fallen so hard that you feel shattered? You can rise again and finish strong. Have you come into a head-on collision with failure, thereby losing your self-worth? You can regain your self-esteem and bounce back. 

I’m sharing these parts of my life to first, acknowledge God’s grace; God showed up for me at my lowest point, and I would be remiss not to acknowledge His Grace in my life.  Secondly to encourage the fallen and forgotten and to inspire resilience for finishing strong. Things may not get better as soon as we want them. So, our daily or weekly prayer should be, “God, keep me from falling and help me to end well.” The truth is that everyone needs help in this regard, and it is only in God that a good life is guaranteed. Seeing God at work is difficult when everything seems to be falling apart. But we easily point fingers everywhere, from family to enemies and even God, when we need someone to be responsible for our pain or recovery. 

When we tell our stories, faith can be inspired, doubts may be validated, comrades might exemplify courage, elders could pass the baton to the future, and children can make friends. In addition, friends could be alienated, alliances can be dismantled, patients could lead physicians astray, and counselors may administer wisdom, all these through the power of stories.
Anytime I look at or read about someone that has fallen or failed morally, I silently ponder, “I thank God for the grace and mercy of God that has kept me strong." I do this because nobody has the capacity to live a fulfilled life without requiring God’s mercy at some point or another.
Learn from mistakes and move forward in life's journey. Experiences can be shared, but cannot be exchanged. Our adulthood is just an older version of our childhood. And we build our present moments on the foundation of our past experiences. It begins when we decide from now onwards that we’ll be intentional to have a come-back mindset! 
When someone reads our story, and they are delivered from past pain to take flight into a fulfilling future, then our mission is accomplished.