All Episodes

In this raw and heartfelt episode, Laura Diehl shares what it’s like when the death of your child causes your life to come to a complete standstill—while the rest of the world just keeps going. She opens up about deeply personal moments from her own grief journey, including the recent reminder of that paralyzing feeling when her father-in-law suddenly passed away and caregiving responsibilities to...

Have you found yourself stuck in the endless questions of why after your child died? Why did this happen? Why my child? Why didn’t God stop it? In this raw and tender episode, Laura gently explores what it means to live in that painful space between loss and healing—where answers often never come, and “closure” feels like a betrayal. Drawing from a powerful quote, “You can get closure, or you can...

In this powerful and heartfelt episode, Laura welcomes Lisa Espinoza to share the deeply personal story of losing her 25-year-old son, Chandler, after he was struck by a car and spent 18 days in the ICU before passing away on January 1st. Lisa opens up about the unique challenges of grieving during the holiday season, the lessons she’s learned from past loss, and how she’s choosing to walk through...

As the United States celebrates Independence Day with fireworks and festivities, grieving parents often feel out of place — bound by pain instead of celebrating freedom. In this gentle and honest episode, Laura speaks to the heart of what “freedom” can look like after the loss of a child. It’s not about moving on… but about slowly learning how to live again. Whether you’re skipping the celeb...

In today’s episode, Laura talks with Kim Harms, who has lost both a mom and a son to suicide and also found herself widowed.  Even with all these losses, Kim has been able to learn how to live a life of meaning and purpose, and loves to encourage others that they can do the same.  Dr. Kimberly Harms has been around the block in life. She has served as a Commissioned Officer in the United States Pu...

In this compassionate episode of Grieving Parents Sharing Hope, Laura Diehl speaks directly to grieving parents who are silently battling guilt after the loss of their child—especially when they wonder, “Was this my fault?” or even, “Is God punishing me?” Drawing from personal emails, Scripture, and real-life stories, Laura offers insight into: Why suffering is not a sign of God’s punishment...

In today’s episode you will be hearing from Laura’s husband, Dave, along with a long-time friend, Matt Poelman, who lost his son, Eric, while serving in the military in Iraq.  Some of the things discussed were: The emotions Matt felt  How he and his wife, Sally, dealt with the death of their son differently How he feels about Father’s Day How losing his son has impacted his faith in God Matt also...

Can we still trust God when we feel like He led us into such a dark place, allowing our child to be taken from us? In today’s episode, Laura takes a look at this question through the familiar verse of Psalm 23:2. (Laura shared her thoughts on Psalm 23:1 in the previous two episodes 297 and 298.) Note: Today’s podcast episode, along with the other June episodes, are being sponsored by Ho Teck Min f...

Last week Laura started looking at Psalm 23:1-2 through the eyes of child loss. She only got through the first few words,  “The Lord is my Shepherd…” In this week’s episode, she finishes out the verse which says, “…I shall not want.” Listen in as Laura talks about how that may mean something different than what we have thought in the past.   Links Mentioned in th i s episode: To hear the podc...

When we make Jesus Lord of our lives, too often we don’t fully understand what that means. We sometimes take it to mean that God will not let anything really bad happen to us. Then when our child dies, it can be hard to trust Him or to see Jesus as the “good” shepherd.  In today’s episode, Laura looks at the familiar scripture of Psalm 23:1 in a way that brings greater understanding to these seemi...

Today’s guest has a very traumatic story. Before ending his own life, Jacke’s son, Randy, attempted to kill his wife, his two young children and his father-in-law. It is a riveting story (within the horrible tragedy) that ends with hope and encouragement. However, Laura fully understands there may be some triggers, as Jacke shares some of the details, so if you want to skip parts of it, you can do...

Most people think that hope is wishful thinking, as in, “I hope they win this game.” However, that kind of hope is not what will get us out of the suffocating darkness of grief after the death of our child. In today’s episode, Laura revisits true hope – the hope that God gives. This is a hope we can rely on in the darkness as He brings us back into the light, to be able to live a life of meaning a...

Today is the continuation of a conversation Laura had with Greg and Cathy Bufkin. In last week’s discussion and this week, the talk goes beyond the topic of suicide, so no matter how your child left this earth, you will be encouraged by what is shared. Greg and Cathy Buffkin lost their son, Ryan, to suicide in 2015. On their journey that began out of unspeakable trauma and brokenness, God has brou...

Today Laura is diving into the topic of suicide with guests Greg and Cathy Buffkin. However, their conversation goes beyond that, giving help and hope to anyone who has lost a child. Greg and Cathy Buffkin lost their son, Ryan, to suicide in 2015. On their journey that began out of unspeakable trauma and brokenness, God has brought them through to a place of restoration, hope and joy with a passio...

Today’s episode is being sponsored by recent followers of GPS Hope, in honor of Becca’s birthday (Laura and Dave’s daughter who passed). Laura was asked to share some stories about Becca as part of the sponsorship, so she asked Dave to join her for this. As listeners of the Grieving Parents Sharing Hope podcast, you may not know a whole lot about GPS Hope, which is the ministry behind the podcast....

As parents who have lost a child from this earth, we know what it is like to be in a place that is so dark it does not seem like Jesus is there for us. In today’s episode Laura reminds us that there are several people in the Bible who also went through a dark time that felt like God was not there with them, including Jesus Himself.   Links Mentioned in th is episode: Find out more about the 2...

As believers in Christ, we are familiar with who Jesus is and what He did for us. We hear a lot about who God (our Father) is as well. But how much do we know about the third part of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit? Why do we need the Holy Spirit, and how can He help us in our grief? This is what Laura talks about in today’s episode. Links Mentioned in th is episode: Order the April Edition of Reflec...

There have been plenty of times when God does not make sense, but none as much as when our child dies and leaves this earth ahead of us. Join Laura today, as she talks about this, with some scriptures that might bring some clarity to our thought process on this topic.   Links Mentioned in th is episode: Order the April Edition of Reflections of Hope: Daily Readings for Bereaved Parents here ....

A few weeks ago, Laura’s friend, Nancy Weil, sent out an email to the presenters on the 2025 Grief Cruise, asking what they thought about the difference between regret and guilt. One of Nancy’s grief support groups were discussing this, so she decided to see what the presenters’ thoughts were on this. Laura decided this made a good topic for a podcast episode, so she packed her podcast micro...

When our child dies, we are thrown into a suffocating darkness that we can believe will be with us for the rest of our time here on earth. Join Laura today as she shares how we can rebuild our lives by comparing it to rebuilding a house, room by room. It won’t look the same, but we can come out of the darkness and learn how to live a life of meaning and purpose again. Links Mentioned in th is epis...

Many of us thought we were building our lives on the Rock, until our child died, and we found ourselves in the sinking sand. Last week Laura shared from the hymn The Solid Rock as a springboard to talk about that. This week, Laura continues the conversation, using a second hymn to share how she believes we can get out of the sinking sand and back onto the Rock. Links Mentioned in th is episode: Go...

Many of us believed we were building our lives on the solid Rock, but after our child died, we found ourselves floundering on sinking sand. Hear what Laura shares about this topic in today’s episode. You may even hear her break out in song a couple of times. Links Mentioned in th is episode: Go to gpshope.org to check out the website for resources, and to get to know Becca, Laura and Dave better....

Heaven. That is often on the mind of those of us who have lost a child. So, let’s talk about it. In today’s episode, you will hear something written by a grieving dad that leads into a discussion about heaven with three points Laura makes. She ends the episode with some imagination from a few of you about heaven and what our children might be doing there while waiting for us to join them. Today&#8...

Many people use the beginning of each year to set new goals or see it as a time for a fresh start. As parents who have lost a child (especially in those first few years) those are not things we are interested in at all. In fact, we don’t want to go into a new year without our child and it can weigh us down. But, what if God could speak something into your place of darkness that could bring you the...

Today you will be hearing Laura interview Glen Lord, who has been on this grief journey of child loss since 1999, when his five-year-old son, Noah, died. Glen’s heart of compassion comes through, along with nuggets that can be tucked away and pulled out when needed while on this unwanted journey. Glen Lord was on the fast track to accomplishing his goal of being a CEO of a fortune 500 company. The...