Your life story book is a map of your life’s journey – the dark and the light – it shows the rocky mountains you’ve climbed, the tough falls you’ve endured and the sweet valleys you’ve enjoyed.

When you’re in the thick of despair, you can’t see the good that will come out of the bad, but when you reflect on your life’s journey, you can clearly see the growth that followed the bumps you encountered along the way.

As Matthew McConaughey writes in his memoir, Greenlights, “The problems we face today eventually turn into blessings in the rearview mirror of life … what goes down will come up.”

Mapping out your life’s journey in your book is a gift not only for yourself but also for your children and grandchildren. Reading it in years to come, they will be assured that any hurt they experience will eventually transform into growth and newfound strength.

Just like as a teenaged cross-country runner, when my shins healed stronger after painful shin splints, we heal stronger after tough times in life. Your life story book will be a testament to this.