The Next Podcast: Moving Forward with Grief and Loss

Loneliness is one of the deepest secondary losses of grief—but it's often misunderstood. When most people hear the word loneliness, they think the answer is more people, more activity, or simply staying busy. But what if that's not the loneliness you're experiencing? In this episode, Jay shares the kind of loneliness that comes after losing a spouse—the loneliness of losing the person...

Six years ago, when Christine passed away, I never imagined I would write a grief devotional. I wasn't looking to become a grief coach, start a grief podcast, or build a ministry around loss. I was simply trying to survive. In this episode, I share the unexpected story behind NEXT: Lamentations and Devotions and why it exists. What began as private journal entries, prayers, questions, and lame...

One of the quieter challenges of grief is learning how to walk through it as a family — especially when everyone is grieving the same loss differently. In this episode of The NEXT Podcast, Jay Cookingham shares honestly about helping his seven adult children grieve the loss of their mother while continuing to navigate his own grief as a widower. How do you support your children without pushing the...

What does it look like to face the future after loss—especially when that future feels smaller, uncertain, or even lonely? In this episode, Jay shares honestly from his own journey as a widower, reflecting on the unique challenges of moving forward without the one you shared life with. From the quiet weight of loneliness to the loss of identity and daily rhythms, this conversation names the realit...

Grief doesn’t just change your life—it reshapes your family. In this episode of The NEXT Podcast, Jay Cookingham reflects on how loss impacts the rhythms, roles, and relationships within a family, especially as a widower with adult children. After losing his wife, Jay found that grief didn’t just take away his partner… it disrupted the shared timeline of raising a family together. What once felt s...

“There is a lot to mourn.” In this deeply personal episode of The NEXT Podcast, Jay Cookingham shares from a recent journal entry—an honest look at what grief continues to uncover over time. Grief isn’t just about the initial loss. It’s also about the secondary losses that follow—changing memories, shifting relationships, and even the evolving relationship you have with yourself. Memories don’t al...

What if grief is shaping you… but not defining you? In this episode of The NEXT Podcast, Jay Cookingham reflects on a tension he’s been wrestling with even after years of walking through loss, hosting a grief podcast, and helping others navigate sorrow—he doesn’t want to be known as “the grief guy.” Because grief may be part of his story… but it is not his identity. Jay shares honestly about what...

In this episode of The NEXT Podcast, I share honestly about where I am now — not as a pastor or teacher, but as a man still walking forward after loss. Grief has reshaped me. It has changed how I see myself, my future, and even my voice. As a widower who loved being married, I wrestle with what it means to still speak about marriage. I grieve not only the loss of my bride, but for the person I mig...

Grief doesn’t just take what you love. It changes who you are. In this episode of The NEXT Podcast, Jay Cookingham continues the conversation about grief as a rite of passage by stepping into what may be the hardest part of the journey—the middle space. That in-between place where you are no longer who you were, but not yet who you are becoming. Jay shares honestly about disorientation, about lear...

If grief is a rite of passage, then stripping is part of the journey. In this episode of The NEXT Podcast, Jay Cookingham continues the conversation from Episode 53, exploring what grief takes from us—and why that painful undoing is not a sign of failure, but a necessary part of transformation. Jay speaks candidly about the roles, rhythms, language, and assumptions that grief dismantles after the...

Grief is not a problem to fix, a disease to cure, or a sentence to serve. It is a passage to walk through. In this episode of The NEXT Podcast, Jay Cookingham reflects on grief as a rite of passage—one that is entered, not chosen, and one that changes us whether we’re ready or not. Drawing from his own six-year journey after the loss of his bride, Christine, Jay shares how grief dismantles what wa...

In this episode of The NEXT Podcast, Jay Cookingham gently reframes the idea of “goals” through the lens of grief, loss, and faith. These are not resolutions meant to fix pain or rush healing. They are sacred goals for widowers—and for anyone walking with grief—who are learning how to live faithfully with loss. Jay walks through seven intentional goals, including honesty, stewardship, endurance, r...

A new year always invites reflection—but when grief is part of your story, reflection becomes sacred work. In this episode, Jay Cookingham talks honestly about what it means to carry both sorrow and hope into a new season. Six years into life as a widower, Jay reflects on the tension between “praise reports” and the parts of grief that are harder to share—the wounds, the exhaustion, the stories be...

Episode 50 marks an important milestone on The NEXT Podcast, and Jay reflects with gratitude on the journey so far—fifty honest conversations shaped by loss, faith, and the steady presence of God. As the calendar turns to a new year, this episode gently acknowledges a truth many grieving hearts know well: while the date may change, grief often remains. The New Year doesn’t automatically feel fresh...

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year” … or is it? For many walking through grief, Christmas doesn’t feel wonderful at all. In this deeply honest episode, Jay reflects on another Christmas without his bride and the complicated, messy reality of holding grief and celebration at the same time. Drawing from Scripture, personal experience, and the truth of the gospel, Jay explores the difference b...

Christmas comes wrapped in lights, music, and cheer, but for those walking through grief, the season can feel completely out of sync with the heart. In this episode, Jay speaks honestly about the tension between cultural “holly jolly” expectations and the real weight of loss, especially when facing Christmas without the one who helped make it meaningful. Drawing from a personal Christmas Eve journ...

In this vulnerable and hope-filled episode, Jay shares what it means to steward singleness during the holiday season, a season that carries both beauty and deep complexity for those grieving. Jay speaks honestly about his own journey as a widower, acknowledging that singleness isn’t something he prefers or celebrates, but a season God has asked him to steward with purpose. With warmth and clarity,...

In this heartfelt Thanksgiving episode, Jay shares why gratitude becomes even more meaningful — and more challenging — in seasons of grief. Drawing from Psalm 9:1 and Psalm 28:7, he reflects on the last Thanksgiving his wife spent at home, the pieces of his heart still scattered by loss, and how choosing thankfulness has become a courageous act of trust. Jay reminds us that gratitude doesn’t erase...

In this episode, Jay dives into a phrase almost every grieving heart knows too well: “Here we go again.” That moment when a fresh wave of grief hits, when old wounds reopen, or when the weight of loss resurfaces just when you thought you were finally steady. Jay explores why grief often repeats itself, why the waves keep coming, and how exhausting it can feel to relive the same emotional ground. H...

What happens when the foundation you’ve built your life on suddenly shifts? In this heartfelt episode, Jay Cookingham opens up about life after loss—about feeling “out of sync,” rebuilding identity, and finding new rhythms when the old anchors are gone. Jay shares his personal journey through grief, the struggle of comparison, and the healing power of creativity and faith. It’s an honest conversat...

This episode explores what it really means to rediscover joy while still honoring loss. Jay shares about a recent men’s conference that reminded him of how universal grief is and how powerful it can be to talk about it honestly. As he reflects on nearly six years since Christine’s passing, Jay wrestles with tension, the sacred space where sorrow and joy coexist. Through scripture, stories, and hon...

After 41 episodes of walking through the valleys of grief and glimpses of grace, Jay takes a pause to look back. In this reflective episode, he unpacks the five recurring themes that have shaped his journey so far: love, God’s relentless goodness, lament, the companionship of joy and sorrow, and trust. Grief doesn’t stand still, it changes us. It refines, reshapes, and reminds us that even in loss...

In Episode 41 of The NEXT Podcast, Jay Cookingham explores the question every grieving heart eventually faces: What’s next? Nearly six years after the loss of his bride, Jay reflects on how grief reshapes our story, challenges our faith, and invites us to keep moving forward with courage and trust. “What’s next” isn’t about getting over loss—it’s about integrating it into our lives, rediscovering...

In Episode 40 of The NEXT Podcast , Jay Cookinghamreflects on a surprising truth—grief doesn’t just take, it can also give back. While loss strips us down and reshapes our lives in ways we never asked for,grief can also become a strange kind of teacher, offering gifts of perspective, compassion, and a deeper awareness of God’s presence. Through the layers of pain, Jay shares how grief has confirme...

In this episode of The NEXT Podcast, Jay wraps up the Four R’s of grief with the last rhythm: Rigorous – The Holy Work of Not Giving Up. Grief is relentless and often harsh but being rigorous doesn’t mean being harsh with yourself—it means being honest, consistent, and faithful in the hardest seasons. Jay shares how “holy persistence” has carried him through loss, what rigorous faith looks like in...