The Heart Behind the Curtain
My Heart, My Curtain
Every story has a stage
Every stage has a curtain
And behind every curtain…. there is a heartbeat.
Good morning, Ladies, I am so thankful that you have chosen to meet me here today. My name is Rita McAlister, and I am the author of Final Curtain Call. It is such a blessing to be able to share not just about my book, but the journey that came with writing it.
It truly means so much that you are willing to share your time with me. Believe me when I say, I do not take it lightly that you are here. God directs us in the paths of others for a reason. And it is my prayer that as I begin this blog, it will become a community to uplift each other on what is sometimes a rocky path of emotions, hurts, and seasons of our lives that are difficult to talk about. Yet, we need so desperately to talk. Hoping to find someone who understands.
At a time when life felt so uncertain —- when I had more questions than answers, writing became a way for me to process emotions, to heal and to remind myself that even when we walk through the darkest seasons of our lives, God is still there.
At its core Final Curtain Call is about hope and redemption. It is about learning that even when we think the curtain has fallen on all our dreams and our peace, God can raise it again for a new beginning. Restoring everything that is broken.
There are some stories that we never expect to tell —– stories we spend years hiding, burying, or pretending they did not happen to us. Behind my curtain there was pain. There was fear. There was a version of me who learned to shrink herself into the corner of the stage just to survive. Abuse has a way of rewriting your internal script long before you ever recognize what is happening. You learn to read the room before you read your own emotions. You choose peace over honesty. You stay quiet because speaking up feels just too dangerous, or selfish, or impossible. And yet here I am speaking out anyway. Only through my faith was I able to find a way out.
This blog is not about reliving trauma. It is about acknowledging the journey that shaped my strength. And to remind others that the pain does not define us —- it can refine us. Through the process, I learned that God uses every part of our story, even the broken pieces, to create something beautiful; while giving us strength beyond anything we could think or imagine.
I know many of us have faced hard seasons — times when we have felt forgotten or unsure of what is next. I certainly have been there. But I want to encourage you today: God is not finished with you. Your story is not over. I know that when we are in the middle of our situations, we often question the “why’s” and even in anger. But the one thing I am certain of is “God is not the Author of Bad Things.”
I have created this space as a safe place for others, who like me just need a place to come to share without any fear of judgment or condemnation, or shame. What I hope my book reminds everyone who has read it —- is that even when you feel alone, you are not alone. There is always hope, always purpose, even in the pain. You matter. Your story matters and is still being written.
My prayer is that we can journey together, healing and reclaiming our lives, lighting the path to faith one story at a time.
With Love,
Rebamac,
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