While We're Waiting® - Hope After Child Loss

Every child has a story that is so much bigger than the way their life ended.

In this first half of my conversation with Jackie Baker, author of Messy Mourning: Hope for Mothers Grieving the Loss of a Child by Suicide, Jackie introduces us to her son Sebastian—a bright, curious, athletic, artistic young man who was deeply loved. She also shares about the struggles he faced and the journey her family walked before his death by ...

Josie Doll joins me again today, as we continue our conversation from last week.  Together we explore the meaning behind her book’s title - "Courage in the Corners" - a phrase her son Christian often used in hockey. For Josie, it's become a powerful picture of grief: having the courage to take the hits, get back up, and keep going.  If you missed the first half of our conversation last week, you may want to click HE...

My guest on the podcast today is my friend Josie Doll, who I had the opportunity to meet when we hosted a While We're Waiting Weekend in Alberta, Canada last spring.  In this first half of our conversation, we get to know her 15-year-old son, Christian—a funny, compassionate young man and natural leader who loved hockey, golf, his friends, and his family.

Josie takes us back to the summer night in July of 2024 when Christ...

In last week’s episode, we met Marty and Missie Durapau and heard about the loss of Missie’s 14-year-old son, Mason, after a golf cart accident on Easter Sunday in 2024. We also heard about the week they spent praying and believing God for a miracle ... and what it meant to keep trusting Him when that miracle didn’t come in the way they had hoped.  If you missed the first half of our conversation, you can fin...

My guests on the podcast today are Marty and Missie Durapau, and if I had to describe the thread that runs through their story, it would be this:  Still Trusting God.

Marty had already experienced devastating loss when his wife of 34 years, Angie, died suddenly in 2020. Missie had walked through difficult seasons of her own before she came to know the Lord as an adult. They married in 2023, blending their families and beginning...

Sherry Bullock’s 19-year-old daughter, Emma, was fun-loving, easygoing, and known for leaving “a trail of Emma” wherever she went.

On February 6, 2021, Emma was killed in a devastating accident on a Florida interstate. In our conversation, Sherry shares honestly about the shock of sudden loss, the silence that followed, and the questions she wrestled with about heaven, God’s sovereignty, and where God was whe...

What does a "holy grief"look like twenty-four years after the death of a child?

In this second half of my conversation with Angie Ford-Green, we move from the story of Kevin's death to the wisdom God has cultivated in her through the years that followed. 

Building on the theme introduced in Part One of our conversation, Angie shares how God has continued to shape her understanding of a holy grief ... one that doesn't deny the pa...

Angie's experience with grief began early in life, losing her father to a massive heart attack when she was just twelve years old.  With little guidance and few opportunities to express her grief, she learned to hide her pain and pretend she was okay when she wasn't ... a pattern that would follow her for decades.  

Then, more than forty years later, her 28-year-old son, Kevin, died suddenly while surfing in the Pacific Oc...

Allie Andres always ended her notes and letters with the words, "Don't worry about me. I'll see you soon."  Because of her faith in Jesus, Allie knew that death was not the end of her story. She would see her loved ones again.

(If you missed the first half of my conversation with Dan & Melissa, click HERE to listen!)  

In this second half of our conversation, Dan and Melissa Andres share what life has been like dur...

"Don't worry about me. I'll see you soon."  ~ Allie

When sixteen-year-old Allie Andres was diagnosed with diffuse midline glioma (DMG), an aggressive and incurable pediatric brain cancer, her family was suddenly faced with every parent's worst nightmare. But instead of allowing fear to define her remaining days, Allie chose to embrace each one with extraordinary faith, contagious joy, and an unwavering focus on eternity.

In this...

"Every scar says, 'Here's where I was broken, and here is where God met me.'" ~ Pat Elsberry

What if the deepest wound in your life could one day become your greatest testimony of God's faithfulness?

In today's episode, returning guest Pat Elsberry joins us to discuss her newest book, When Scars Become Stories: A Journey to Healing, Restoration, and Faith.  After her daughter Melanie died due to addiction in 2020, Pat began the ...

In the second half of my conversation with author and speaker Wende Gaikema, our discussion turns to some of the most difficult and deeply personal questions parents face after the suicide of a child.  (If you haven't listened to the first half of our conversation yet, please click HERE to do that!)

Drawing from her own experience following the death of her 24-year-old son, Matt, Wende continues walking through the choices outl...

The death of a child by suicide leaves parents with heartbreaking questions, overwhelming emotions, and a complicated grief journey. In this first episode of a two-part conversation, I speak with author, speaker, and leadership coach Wende Gaikema about the loss of her 24-year-old son, Matt, who died by suicide in 2018.

Wende first shares Matt's story and the day that changed her family's life forever. She then introduces the centra...

Today we pick up right where we left off last week in my conversation with Heather Oden.  In the previous episode, she introduced us to her son Jacob and shared the heartbreaking story of the car accident that took his life at just 15 years old. She also gave us a glimpse into those early days of grief and the ways God met her in the middle of unimaginable pain.  (You may want to click HERE to listen to the first half of ...

My guest today is Heather Oden of Sterling, Kansas. Heather is a woman who wears many hats ... She's the executive director of a nonprofit called Light Up the Dark, a worship leader at her church, the wife of a fifth-generation farmer, and the mom of five children.  Today, she joins me to share the story of her son, Jacob.

Jacob was an athlete, an encourager, and a young man with a remarkable gift for noticing people who were h...

Is it possible to forgive someone who has taken everything from you?

That's the question at the heart of the second half of my conversation with Davey Blackburn.

After losing his wife, Amanda, and unborn daughter, Evie, in a tragic act of violence in 2015, Davey made national headlines when he publicly extended forgiveness to the men responsible. But as he explains in this episode, forgiveness was not a feeling that came naturally. I...

On November 10, 2015, Davey Blackburn's life changed forever. 

What began as an ordinary Tuesday morning ended in unimaginable tragedy when intruders entered his home, leaving his wife Amanda critically wounded. 24 hours later, Davey faced the devastating reality of losing not only Amanda, but also their unborn daughter, Evie. Suddenly, the young pastor found himself walking a road he never expected to travel.

In this first half...

"God just kept putting joy in front of me and encouraging me to open my heart to it."

In this second half of my conversation with author Leanne Davidson, we move into some of the deeper questions grieving parents often wrestle with after child loss: Why? What if? Could I have done something differently? Will I ever feel joy again?

After losing her son, Mikael, to a fentanyl overdose, Leanne has walked through those questions herself....

“Our hearts may be tattered, but they are still useful in God’s hands.” 

In this first half of my conversation with author Leanne Davidson, she shares the story of her son, Mikael — a compassionate, funny, energetic young man who loved people deeply and brought joy and laughter wherever he went. She also opens up about the difficult journey of walking alongside a child struggling with addiction and the d...