Holidays and Hard Days
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Advent Through the Lens of Grief – Christmas Eve – Christ
On Christmas Eve, the Advent candle of Christ reminds us that God entered a broken world through vulnerability, not power. Through grief, we remember Emmanuel—God with us—whose coming promises that sorrow will not have the final word.
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Advent Through the Lens of Grief: Week Four – Love
Love can feel complicated in grief. In this Week Four Advent reflection, we explore God’s love through loss, the incarnation of Christ, and the hope that love did not stay distant—it crossed over.
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Advent Through the Lens of Grief: Week Three — Joy
Joy often feels out of place in grief. This Advent reflection explores how Christian joy is not happiness, but quiet confidence that God is still doing something good—even now.
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Advent Through the Lens of Grief: Week Two – Peace
Experience Advent peace in grief as we explore how Christ brings peace into the places that still ache. Week Two of Advent invites us to rest in His presence, even when Christmas feels heavy.
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Advent Through the Lens of Grief: Week One — Hope
Christmas can feel especially heavy when we’re grieving. Advent meets us in that place—not with pressure to celebrate, but with an invitation to breathe and remember that hope still comes. In Week One, we look at the Hope candle, exploring how even the smallest flame can steady us in seasons of sorrow.
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Thankful in the Midst of Grief
Navigating the holidays after loss is never easy. This Thanksgiving, I’m learning that being thankful in the midst of grief doesn’t erase the hurt—it reveals God’s nearness. Rebuild Session Ten offers gentle guidance for these difficult seasons.
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Grief and Birthdays: Remembering Loved Ones With Love
Birthdays can stir up both cake and candles—or tears and longing. For those who have lost someone, they remind us not only of what was, but also of what will never be again.
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Tea For The Heart, A Grieving Mother’s Gathering
Seven years and four months ago, I entered a new world, the world of child loss. I never would have imagined that what followed would be filled with so many unexpected moments. Moments of tears of sorrow and joy. Moments of deep connection over honest conversations. Moments of gratitude for those who understood and could never understand my heartache. April 26th, my “community” hosted a special tea for moms and grandmothers who have experienced the loss of a child of any age or stage of life, along with moms in waiting who struggle with infertility. I used the term “my community” to mean my church family, our care director, and…
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A New Year Without You
A New Year is typically a time for resolutions—intentions to do something new. Some resolutions include improving one’s health, getting out of debt, going back to school, or spending more time with loved ones. I often wonder, in the midst of grief, what a New Year’s resolution might look like when sometimes getting out of bed is a challenge, when planning for the future seems impossible because your “future” died with that loved one. So, in 2025, to my fellow grievers, here are some resolutions you might try. Resolve to do helpful things. There is a slogan we used in REBUILD, Finding Hope After Loss, that goes like this: “Everything is normal.…
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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…
