3 Steps To Bravely Share Your Story

By Mike Foster

Here’s the unfortunate reality of the second chance.  To get there you have to completely wreck your first one.    But for all of us who have ever messed up, there’s good news!

When God writes our stories, there are never mistakes, just movements to bring us closer to Him and to connect us to one another.

So, we should never be ashamed. We should never hide the words, characters, scenes, and cliff-hangers that make up our stories of grace. We rob God when we delete moments, erase characters, or censor the scandalous parts. And when we share them honestly, we help others breathe easier about whatever story they have inside of them. 

So how do you begin to share your story?

1. Investigate your heart
Our stories reside in our hearts. Love stories and tragedies. So we must look there first.  Maybe you know what your untold story is but you’re too afraid to talk about it.   Or you’ve compartmentalized your pain and you don’t even know the build up that’s been gathering in your soul.

Bravely enter your story and boldly enter your heart. Though that may feel scary, God promises to give life for dead emotions and provide growth out of withered feelings. Your heart longs to be brought back to life. 

2. Write the first sentence
Start with something tiny but powerful. You need a summary sentence that captures the core of what you have been too scared to say. It doesn’t have to be fancy or eloquent. It just needs to be true. Don’t judge the sentence. Don’t water down the words. Just write what is true. Let the courage you found to break your silence give you confidence to share.

3. Be brave with your story
Your story brings hope, no matter how messy or broken it feels.  There is no simplicity to truth being spoken. Sharing your story has the potential to shift your entire universe. Because when bravery comes on the scene the angels in heaven cheer. The winds of grace blow strong when we say impossible things. Scary things. Things that we’re ashamed of.  When we speak the unspeakable, the chains that once head us back begin to fall away and we can step out into a new found freedom. 

Be brave with your story because it makes you you.

Find out more about the life saving love in your story by pre-ordering the new People of the Second Chance book.  Download the first chapter for free before the release on September 20. 

Mike Foster is the founder of People of the Second Chance and the author of Wonderlife: A Not So Perfect Guide To Who You Are And Why You’re Here. He lives in San Diego with his family and fluffy dog.