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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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August’s Ache: Celebrating Life In The Midst Of Loss
August holds both celebration and ache for my family—birthdays, anniversaries, and the reminder of who is missing. Faith assures me Bryan is alive with Christ, yet sorrow remains. In this tender space where joy and grief meet, God’s presence brings hope.
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Grief Isn’t A Disease To Be Cured
Grief is complicated. We search for answers, but the most beneficial things that can occur aren’t the answers but those we meet along our search. When Bryan died, I knew ONE PERSON who had lost a child, Joan. I met Joan five years before as I became involved with a lifemaping ministry called Listen To My Life. Joan helped so much in the early days, weeks, months, and years. While she was a wealth of knowledge with loads of resources, the most helpful thing Joan did (and does) was walk beside me. It is a “walking beside you” experience of not having to have the answer or even explain the…
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Paradox of Mourning – Things you never expect
Tomorrow would be my son Bryan’s 22nd birthday on the 22nd. His “golden birthday.” That was a new term for me. A golden birthday is a birthday year when you turn the age that corresponds to the day of the month of your birthday. Bryan only lived to be 16, but time has moved on. And a new milestone arose. So how do you celebrate? How do you honor someone once they are gone? How do you move forward while looking back? That is the paradox of mourning. Dr. Alan Wolfelt, a famous death educator, grief counselor, and author, wrote about it in “The Paradox of Mourning.” Paradox 1: You…
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Happy Birthday In Heaven
August 22nd will be my son’s 21st birthday. It should be a time of celebration, but not this year. Or ever again. You see, Bryan has spent his last four birthdays in Heaven. On the morning of December 16, 2017, we were making plans for the holidays, Christmas shopping online, and preparing for the upcoming wedding of our oldest daughter Robin. Late that afternoon, my life changed forever. What started as an evening with friends turned into a nightmare as we discovered our 16-year-old son, Bryan, hung in the shower. I can remember it like yesterday. I was sitting on the couch, writing Christmas cards and watching a Christmas movie. My husband came in from…
