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Forever 29. Every parent who has lost a child from this earth knows exactly what that means. Since this is the birthday week of Laura’s daughter, Becca, she decided to talk about how difficult their birthdays can be, especially when those around us think we should be “moving on” and don’t understand why this day is still so important to us. Laura shares some encouragement in this area as well, alo...

1 Corinthians 15:55 is a verse we hear every year around this time at Easter, which says, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” As parents who have lost a child, we can tell you exactly where that sting is, can’t we? In this episode, Laura talks about this, along with some thoughts about how the death and resurrection of Jesus affects us in such a deep way after the death...

This is the time of year we start heading into spring… at least that is what the calendar tells us. It might take a while for the weather to get the message though. God can use nature to teach us many things about life, as well as death and grief. Laura talks about this in today’s episode, giving some comparisons with things in nature and the changing of the seasons to our grief, after the death o...

For those of us who have lost a child from this earth, there is no way we can put words to the pain and suffocating darkness we find ourselves hurled into. As Laura has been known to say, “I didn’t even know that kind of darkness existed!” How do you even try to explain to someone who has never faced child loss what our grief is like, not just the first few months, but the first few years? I...

Today’s episode is a continuation of last week’s discussion with Linda Dillow. If you have not heard episode 201 yet, please do not listen to this one until you go back. It lays the foundation for what will be shared today, which is needed for the topic of sexual intimacy and grief to make much more sense. (You may even be frustrated by what you hear in this episode if you have not heard the previ...

Today you are going to hear the start of a conversation with a returning guest, Linda Dillow on a topic that is highly unusual and hard to find, which is sexual intimacy and grief. This may sound strange, but Linda is highly qualified on the topic of God’s view of sexual intimacy. After studying it out for herself, God led her to write a book, which led to more books and doing over 80 conferences...

We will face pitfalls on this unwanted grief journey after the death of our child. The valley of the shadow of grief is real and it is big. There can be many different feelings and emotions while on this unwanted journey. Some of those are: Fear Depression and anxiety Longings and triggers Regret Loneliness and isolation Thinking I can’t go on without my child here In today’s episode, Laura talks...

When we are in that place of deep grief after child loss, all kinds of dark thoughts can go through our minds and hearts. God knows this. He knows all our doubts about who He is and all our shame and messiness that make us feel so very broken and unlovable. Not only does He know the darkest things about us that we might not even want to admit to ourselves, He wants to continue living inside us, wh...

Today’s episode is with guest, Alicia White, whose seventeen-year-old daughter ended her own life, very unexpectedly. As someone who had a well-established ministry, teaching families how to grow together spiritually, there was a lot of guilt and shame to work through, on top of grieving her daughter’s sudden departure from this world by her own hand. This is a powerful conversation about how Alic...

What do you do when you help your child fulfill their dream at a young age, only to have that dream be what ends your child’s life as a teenager? That is exactly what happened to Laura’s guest, Clint Hatton. His son, Gabriel, had a dream as a young boy to become a pilot. Clint and his wife got behind their son and helped him realize that dream. Gabriel got his pilot license even before getting his...

This is a continuation of Laura’s talk with Linda Dillow. If you did not hear Episode 195: Trusting God When It Doesn’t Make Sense, we strongly urge you to listen to that one first, as it will share Linda’s unusual story and it is a springboard to what you will hear from Laura and Linda in this episode. Last week led up to how and why Linda came up with her Declaration of Hope. Today we will hear...

Linda Dillow was a missionary for 18 years in Eastern Europe, including Russia when it was under communism. She has seen a lot and learned to trust God through many hardships. But nothing has caused her to fight darkness, despair, and hopelessness as much as the death of one of her two daughters, who were both battling cancer at the same time during the COVID pandemic. Linda has had to go back to...

A point of frustration for many bereaved parents after child loss is feeling like we are being judged for still missing our children. There are some people around us who think we should be “moving on” or be “over it” by now, as if the death of our child is like a bad cold. Yes, the death of our child was an event, a moment in time. But that moment has disfigured us for the rest of our lives. In to...

This is the time of year when we are surrounded by people talking about having goals for the new year and how to achieve them. For those of us who are in the darkness of child loss, we are probably not making lists of lofty goals. We just want to know how to simply survive the coming year without our child. Laura understands that one “goal” of survival, and also knows while it may sound simple, it...

After child loss, it can feel like the dagger in our hearts is being twisted as we head into a new year without our child, especially that first year. We feel like we are leaving them behind on a whole new level. Life is going on without our child and it isn’t supposed to! We desperately need hope to hang on. We need hope that God has not betrayed or abandoned us. Our head may know that, but somet...

This is a short episode, but an intimate and deep one as Laura reads a poem she wrote a few years after her daughter, Becca, died. Laura also closes out today’s episode with a prayer over the listeners, as they may be struggling heading into a new year without their child. Links Mentioned in th is episode: Join the discussion! Leave a question or comment on today’s talk here . Click he...

This podcast episode was sponsored by John and Tricia Ferreira in memory of their son, John Ferreira, Jr. Laura has decided to spend a couple of weeks during the holidays to talk about whether our children can give us signs that they are around at times or are able to communicate with us in some way after they die. This can be a very controversial topic in the Body of Christ, but it is an extremel...

Laura has decided to spend a couple of weeks during the holidays to talk about whether our children can give us signs that they are around at times, or be able to communicate with us in some way after they die. This can be a very controversial topic in the Body of Christ, but it is an extremely important one to tackle. Laura does not use any titles, but she has been an ordained minister since 2009...

With the Christmas season in full swing, it can make missing our child brutal. Finding the right gift to give others may not be on your radar right now, much less giving any gifts to yourself. However, those who have been on this journey for a while know how important it is find helpful ways to get through this painful time of year. In this episode, Laura helps us to be okay with giving gifts to o...

Last week Laura was talking with Lynda Cheldelin Fell about ten tips to help bereaved parents get through the end-of-the-year holiday season. They only got through eight of the ten. (You will want to listen to episode 186 first to catch up, plus it is full of things that are good to know, emotionally, mentally, spiritually and even physically.) In today’s episode, Laura and Lynda finish their conv...

As we come into the end-of-the-year holiday season, it can help to hear from others who are further down the road and can offer some encouragement and guidance. Lynda Cheldelin Fell is one of those pareavors. Lynda has ten tips to share with us as we go through the emotional kaleidoscope of missing our child during a time of year that is full of festivities and “joy”.   Lynda Cheldelin Fell i...

All the holidays are a struggle, but Thanksgiving is unique in that the entire purpose is to be thankful and grateful for the ways God has blessed us. If you are in those first two to three years of child loss, you may not feel even remotely blessed, believing it is impossible to have anything to be thankful for. This episode is not to pump you up, trying to help you find things to be thankful for...

The last few episodes have been discussing Isaiah 61:3 that says God will give those who mourn a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy for their mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of heaviness and despair. This verse continues to say they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. In this final episode on Isaiah 61:3, Lau...

Today’s episode is continuing to look at Isaiah 61:3 through the eyes of a parent who has lost a child from this earth. Laura has asked worship leader, Angelique Marketon, (who lost her 16-year-old son and only child in a senseless single-car accident) to join her in talking about the struggle of allowing God to give us a garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness and despair. Angelique Marketo...

Laura is taking a few episodes to dig into Isaiah 61:3 from the view of child loss. This week she is excited to share how the Holy Spirit shed new light on God giving us the oil of joy in the place of our deep grief. If you are a bereaved parent who struggles with the thought of having joy in your life again, be sure to listen. To comment or join in the conversation, click here . Links Mentioned i...