The Art of Starting Over: A Testimony of Resilience, Restoration, and Redirection

There’s a quiet strength required when life forces us to start over. Whether it’s due to a major loss, a painful betrayal, a breakup, or something as seemingly modern as being hacked online. Starting over tests not only our patience but also our faith. For me, the test came in the form of digital theft: my Facebook and Instagram accounts as well as my Gmail account, where I had documented years of accomplishments, travels, writings, and ministry work, were hacked. The platforms that once held a piece of my voice, my testimony, and my journey no longer felt safe, and to make matters worse, Facebook was not supportive of recovering my identity or content.

I felt violated and deeply hurt. For years, I had worked hard to earn my bachelor’s degree in Biblical Literature, complete my Master’s and Ph. D in Christian Education, travel the world, make connections with parents and managers of NFL players, and college athletes, and share wisdom and inspiration through multiple publications. Every post, every picture, every word carried purpose. And in one moment, it all felt like it had vanished. In addition, it happened twice more even after putting in additional security matters.

But what the enemy meant for evil, GOD used for redirection and protection.

In the silence that followed, I prayed. I cried. I questioned. I talked to my grandfather, pastor, and mentor. Listening to my grandpa and in the stillness, GOD redirected me to something greater. Substack and other meaningful platforms and publications that allowed for deeper connection, true ownership, and a new way to tell my story. I realized that sometimes, GOD allows certain doors to close so He can lead us into new rooms of creativity, imagination, and purpose.

Isaiah 43:19 (NIV) reminds us:

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

What seemed like a wasteland—my social media presence lost—was actually fertile ground for something new to spring forth.

Here are the lessons I learned in the process of starting over:

1. Loss is often redirection, not rejection.

I had to shift my mindset. I wasn’t being punished, I was being positioned. Sometimes GOD will allow something to happen so that our gifts can mature and not be limited so that we can flourish in places where our voice matters more.

2. Identity is never found in platforms.

Social media may amplify our message, but it doesn’t define our worth. My identity is in Christ, not in the number of followers or likes. It is so easy to lose sight of who you are when you take your eyes off the reason why you have social media to desiring to be like and grow followers.

Colossians 3:3 (ESV) says, “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

3. Creativity flows best when we’re broken open and hit rock bottom.

In my pain, I tapped deeper into my imagination, my writing, and my GOD-given gifts. When stripped and feeling like we have hit rock bottom, we often begin to stir up the gifts in us.

4. GOD is always in control.

Even in the chaos of losing access, GOD was never absent. His hand was guiding me and preparing me to expand my vision.

Romans 8:28 (KJV): “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

5. Resilience is built in the rebuild.

I am stronger now, not because I never lost anything, but because I found a new way to rise even if the process seems a little longer. I’ve learned to carry my testimony with grace, to share my gifts with confidence, to turn my pain into passion, and to embrace the new anointing. For I have been taught by my spiritual father and grandpa, Dr. Oscar J. Nelson Dowdell-Underwood,  “GOD always gives you an anointing where you have been wounded.”

Starting over is an art form that GOD Himself teaches us. From Genesis to Revelation, we see stories of redirection and restoration. Your story, like mine, doesn’t end at the loss. It begins again with purpose, clarity, experience, and new anointing.

So, if you’ve been forced to start over, know this: GOD hasn’t forgotten you. He’s just shifting you to a higher place and repositioning you for something greater.

Bible Verses to Hold Onto While Starting Over:

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Lamentations 3:22–23 (NIV) – “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV) – “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

Psalm 126:5 (ESV) – “Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!”

You are not starting from scratch—you’re starting from experience. And with God, nothing is ever truly lost.

Let your comeback be your canvas.