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Beauty From Ashes: Reviewing My Year
2024 is rapidly coming to an end. It is a year full of changes, challenges, and comfort. So, before moving into 2025, I wanted to stop and remember. To thank God for the times He has met me, for the friends he has put in my life along the way, and for reminders that seven years down the road, there is beauty in the midst of ashes. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others (1 Peter 4:10) A considerable part of my life since Bryan died has been about helping others in the midst of their grief. During the Spring semester, we trained a new…
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I Will Never Forget The First Time I Heard That Song
Music and Memory in GriefMusic is a universal language. It reflects the heart and touches the soul. In seasons of grief, it opens a valve to our emotions. That’s why so many people find healing through music. Each season, I seem to discover a new song that helps me say what my heart is feeling. Especially around the holidays, I find myself listening again and again as I silently cry, “I miss you.”Here are a few of the songs that have carried me. The Sweetest Gift (Craig Aven 2016) In 2018, shortly after Bryan died, I came across The Sweetest Gift by Craig Aven. Christmas had already passed, but I…
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Making Meaning In The Midst of Grief
December 16th is a date that will live in infamy, at least in my life. It represents the day our precious Bryan went to Heaven. The day I thought my heart would stop beating; the day our lives changed forever; and it is something else: it is the day of my new son-in-law, Luke’s birth, the remarkable young man who promised to love and cherish our precious firstborn daughter, Robin. I didn’t realize it was Luke’s birthday until I had attached a different meaning to it – Bryan’s death. We all have emotional connections to certain dates, don’t we? For me, the significance is layered.My mom’s birthday falls on September…
