All Episodes

Hearing how other parents have gotten through the suffocating darkness of child loss can bring a spark of hope, especially when you know they have had some of the same confusing thoughts and struggles. Today’s episode is an unusual and special one, as Dave and Laura are being interviewed by Greg Buffkin to give bereaved parents hope, for his podcast Hope After Child Loss.   Links Mentioned in...

During the Christmas season, we are surrounded by the sights and sounds of being joyful. For many of us who have lost a child, we just want this time of year to be over. We don’t see joy being part of our lives ever again. In this episode, Laura shares from week three in her book Hope for the Future: An Advent Journey for Bereaved Parents which tackles the topic of joy during the Christmas season....

God will often use things in nature, or things going on around us, to speak to our hearts, showing us something we need to see, or helping us understand a truth we need to grasp. In today’s episode, Laura shares some of the things God showed her while walking mountain trails, that have to do with grieving the earthly loss of our children. Links Mentioned in th is episode: Click here for more info...

This was an unplanned episode, but Laura wanted to share some things before the week was over. With this being the week of Thanksgiving (here in the US) Laura started wondering if there is a difference between being thankful and being grateful. After listening to what she has to share, Laura would love to hear your thoughts. You can write them in the comment section under the podcast audio bar her...

The holidays can be absolutely brutal to those of us who have lost a child, especially those first few years. Even as we get further down the road, we never know how this time of year is going to affect us. In today’s episode, Laura talks to two different pareavors on how they have navigated the holidays, both in the early years, and as they are now further down this path of being a bereaved paren...

Sometimes we can feel like God must not care, or He would not have let our child die and allow us to be in so much pain. There are many people in the Bible who also felt like God had abandoned them. In this episode, Laura shares a few of these, based on a song she likes to listen to occasionally, to remind her that God really does see our struggles and He cares. Links Mentioned in th is episode: W...

In today’s short episode, Laura pulls out her response to an email she received quite a while back, thinking it might be helpful to others who are struggling with questions about things like God’s goodness. Links Mentioned in th is episode: Click here to find out more about Laura’s book When Tragedy Strikes: Rebuilding Your Life With Hope and Healing After the Death of Your Child. Watch Laur...

Today you are going to hear from a new friend and fellow pareavor, Kim Avery. Kim has so many things to share from a heart that is kind and caring, while encouraging us to learn how to walk from the place of grace that God has for us for the moment we are in. Twenty years ago, Kim moved from being a professional counselor to working as a certified life and business coach. She loved every minute of...

When our child dies, it can feel like God betrayed us. We prayed for our kids, we took them to church, etc. In other words, we did what we were supposed to do, so why didn’t God keep His end of things? In today’s episode, Laura talks about looking beyond what we know here and now, encouraging the listeners to also take into consideration God’s view of eternity. Links Mentioned in th is episode: Jo...

In those first few months (or even first two or three years) many pareavors (bereaved parents) have a hard time believing they will get to the point where they are not in the place of suffocating grief they have found themselves thrown into. There are thousands of pareavors who are several years down the road, who thought the same thing. But once they find themselves out of that dark pit, is it he...

We are very aware of the four seasons of the year, but have you thought about how our grief can have seasons as well? In this episode, Laura shares her thoughts about all four seasons, and how they correspond to the grief we deal with, in the loss of our child.   Note: Laura also shares that for a “season”, she will be releasing a podcast every other week instead of weekly. Links Mentioned in...

Do we know the difference between our soul and our spirit and how each of them affects us? As a bereaved parent, do we have a broken soul, a broken spirit, or both? Does it really matter? Listen in as Laura shares some insights that she believes the Lord has given her recently about this.   Links Mentioned in th is episode: Click here to recieve a personal Weekly Word of Hope from Laura. Join...

Most of the time, when we use the word “hope” it is wishful thinking, as in “I hope our team pulls out a win today.” But when the word “hope” is used in scripture, God has a different meaning. Listen in, as Laura talks about this, and how important it is to be a prisoner of hope, as we find in Zechariah 9:12. A special thank you to Chris and ReNea Trebelhorn, for sponsoring today’s episode in hono...

As parents who have lost a child, we all know people who have said things that are inappropriate or just plain hurtful. In this episode, you are going to hear from two very special ladies in a conversation with Laura, about things people say that are just not true, in their attempt to make us “feel better.” Sara Faith Nelson, has been on this journey for ten years. She taught elementary and middle...

It seems many of us struggle to hear from God after the death of our child. We wonder why He has abandoned us when we need Him more than we ever have before. This was not Laura’s original topic for this episode, but God directed her to change it unexpectedly, a few hours before she was planning on recording. Links Mentioned in th is episode: To get My Grief Journey for only $5 (through July) click...

Have you ever stopped to think that your tears could possibly be a gift from God? That is something Laura explores in today’s talk, along with a few other observations that may be helpful to those who are grieving the loss of their child. Links Mentioned in th is episode: To get My Grief Journey for only $5 (through July) click here . (Be sure to check out My Grief Journey for Kids also.) Cl...

When we are in that dark pit of grief after child loss, we are in a very vulnerable place, making us an easy target for the enemy to get a foothold. It might be through things we were taught about God that make us angry at Him. It could be through our desperate need for peace, causing us to go down a path we would not have gone down before. Today’s guest dealt with both of these things.  Listen in...

After taking a month off for her sister’s illness and unexpected passing, Laura is back. In this episode, she discusses how faith and fear have the same root, and how the choice we make to lean into one or the other will have an affect on our journey of child loss. Links Mentioned in th is episode: Join us for a Weekend of Hope in Wisconsin this August! Find out more  here. To look at or purchase...

When we first lose our child from this earth, memories bring stabbing pain, because we realize that is all we have now. We can’t make new memories. We feel like we will never be able to enjoy life again, even if we have other children, a wonderful spouse, or job or ministry we loved. How can we possibly smile, or ever be happy again after our child dies? Just the thought of it can make us feel gui...

In today’s episode, Laura shares how she begged God to end her life after the death of her daughter. Eventually Laura decided that she did not want to live out the rest of her life as the shell of a person just waiting to die. As Laura shares her progression of going from wanting to die, to now living a life of meaning and purpose again, she does it in a way that brings hope to other pareavors, as...

Waiting can be one of the hardest and most exhausting things to do. As parents who have lost a child from this earth, two things we seem to be waiting on the most are for it to stop hurting so much, and obviously waiting to be with our child again. This week Laura talks about waiting for it to stop hurting so much. Next week she will discuss waiting to be with our child again. Links Mentioned in t...

After our child leaves this earth, most of us want to take Romans 8:28 out of our Bibles, especially when people throw that verse at us in a way that is supposed to make it all better. (“Remember, God promises to work everything out for good…”) Laura has been in that place of suffocating darkness, and begged God to take her from this earth when her daughter, Becca, died. In today’s episode,...

If you know Laura, you know that she feels things deeply and tears come easily to her. Somehow, she manages to hold those tears back when recording the podcast episodes… but not this time. A miracle is something only God can do, which is what we wanted (and even expected) for our children, either in a healing or in protection. When that doesn’t happen, our disappointment and even anger with God ca...

Mother’s Day can be one of the most difficult days of the year for a mom after child loss. In this episode, Laura will be talking about both Mother’s Day, and a special day the week before, which is International Bereaved Mother’s Day, which is the first Sunday in May. Laura is  very real and honest about her thoughts and feelings about all of this, in a way that isn’t normally like her.  But Moth...

So much horrific pain and darkness comes with child loss. It doesn’t matter how young or how old your child was when they left this earth. It doesn’t matter if it was sudden or if it was long and drawn out. As pareavors (bereaved parents), we can bristle when others say they know how we feel, because of a different loss. We know what that feels like. But what about when we compare our child’s loss...