While We're Waiting® - Hope After Child Loss

In today's episode, Jill goes a little deeper with Tristan's parents, Todd & Melissa Shaffer, as they discuss issues specifically related to suicide loss and spend some time talking about some of Melissa's most popular blog posts.  Be sure and listen to Part One of our conversation to hear more about their remarkable son Tristan. You can find Melissa's website by clicking h...

My conversation today is with Tristan’s mom and dad, Todd and Melissa Shaffer.  In this first half of our discussion, they share the story of their "Sunshine Boy", and the shadow that gradually began to move across his face … ultimately leading to him taking his own life in their garage. They describe their efforts to seek help for him and the peace they’ve found as they’ve learned to re...

Miss Havisham, a character in the book "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens, was jilted on her wedding day at precisely 9:20 am, and for her, everything stopped at that moment.  She spent the rest of her life sitting at her dressing table in her wedding dress, one shoe on and one shoe off, with her wedding cake moldering beside her.  In today's episode, Jill talks about how we, a...

Today I’m pleased to bring you the second half of my conversation with Millie’s mom, Courtney Mount.  If you missed last week’s episode, I encourage you to go back and listen to it to hear the story of sweet and sassy Amelia Joy who was carried home to Heaven by neuroblastoma cancer in July of 2020 … You really don’t want to miss that!  Today’s episode builds on her story as we discuss some very p...

Over 15,000 children are diagnosed with cancer every year in the United States.  In June of 2019, Courtney Mount's 2-year-old daughter Millie was one of those kids.  As Millie battled her cancer with simple faith and sass, her mom and dad prayed, "Lord, please heal her and allow her to tell Your goodness with her own lips, but if You don't, we will tell her story for her."  In...

When a parent has lost a child, the thought of shouldering that burden of grief for a lifetime can be completely overwhelming ... even debilitating.  In today's episode, Jill shares an article written by Tim Challies that reminds us we don't have to carry the entire weight of grief all at once, but rather we can carry it brick by brick until the Lord calls us home.  "I Miss My Son T...

Listen in for the second half of Jill's conversation with Teresa Davis about her son Andrew and the incident that took him home to Heaven in the fall of 2018.  Make sure you go back and listen to the first half of our chat in which we discuss how God allowed her to lament through the first 37 chapters of Job ... and then met her there in her darkness.  In today's episode, we enjoy a hope...

This is the first half of Jill's conversation with Teresa Davis about her son Andrew and the incident that took him home to Heaven in the fall of 2018.  After his death, Teresa, who has known and loved the Lord for many years, went to a very dark place from which she thought might never recover.  Listen in to hear how God led her to lament through the first 37 chapters of Job and then met her...

So much of the battle in grief is spiritual in nature.  As the years have passed, I've found that the times I really find myself in a deep, dark place about Hannah's death, it's because I've allowed Satan to get a foothold in my head and in my heart, and he's "stealing my stuff" again.  It's at times like this that I have to remember what I know ... I would...

Today's episode is the second half of Jill's conversation with Corrie Andrews, mom of Sadie Grace, who stepped into the arms of Jesus as a result of a tragic incident at a local ice cream shop in 2017.  Listen in for a discussion of some very practical issues faced by grieving parents, including coping with "grief brain", dealing with the grief of young siblings, nurturing the...

Three-year-old Sadie was a precious little girl who spread sunshine and cheer everywhere she went.  When she stepped into the arms of Jesus as a result of a tragic incident at a local ice cream shop, her parents and five young siblings were suddenly launched into a journey of grief.   Today's episode includes the first half of Jill's conversation with Sadie's mom Corrie about forgiv...

When the 19-year-old daughter of Jim and Carol Smitherman fell critically ill with a pulmonary embolism days before Christmas in 2011, they began to pray for a miracle.  After that earthly miracle didn't happen and Sarah went to Heaven, they realized they had actually received a different kind of miracle, an even more powerful one.  For more information about the While We're Waiting mini...

If you've ever wondered what our While We're Waiting Weekends for Bereaved Parents are all about but were a little hesitant to look into them, this is your episode!  Jill takes a few minutes today to share what a WWW Weekend is, who can come, where they are held, who leads them, and what our guests do while they're there.   Ultimately, she reminds the listeners what our WWW Weekends...

When her 3-year-old son Austin was diagnosed with strep throat on a Tuesday morning in the spring of 2008, Kim Erickson had no idea how her life was about to change.  Austin's unexpected Homegoing just a few days later launched her on a journey of deep sorrow, but also led her to new life in Christ.  Kim has compiled her experiences as a grieving mom into a book called "Surviving Sorrow:...

When her 3-year-old son Austin was diagnosed with strep throat on a Tuesday morning in the spring of 2008, Kim Erickson had no idea how her life was about to change.  Austin's unexpected Homegoing just a few days later launched her on a journey of deep sorrow, but also led her to new life in Christ.  Kim has compiled her experiences as a grieving mom into a book called "Surviving Sorrow:...

In today's episode, Jill introduces her listeners to a goat named Knothead who spends his days lying around a barnyard ruminating, shares what God's Word has to say about ruminating, and discusses what all this has to do with us as bereaved parents. For more information about the While We're Waiting ministry and the faith-based services we offer for bereaved parents, please click HE...

Today Jill is joined by her husband Brad to talk specifically about issues faced by bereaved dads.   Brad shares some encouraging words about the gift of earthly fatherhood, the fact that we are still our kids' parents even after they go to Heaven, and that the future glory of fatherhood remains ahead of us.  For more information about our While We're Waiting Bereaved Dads' Days, cl...

Matt Young was a  young man who loved the Lord and was mature beyond his years.  He wanted to be a firefighter from the time he was a little boy, and he accomplished that dream and served his community faithfully for eight years.  He married the love of his life and maintained a close and loving relationship with his parents and sisters.  When he suddenly and inexplicably took his own life in May...

The fifth chapter of John tells of an encounter between Jesus and a man who had been unable to walk for 38 years.  Jesus asked the man a strange question:  "Do you want to be healed?"  Of course he did ... but he was unable to attain healing on his own.  Jesus asked the man to take an action he was clearly incapable of ... and in that moment, He gave the man the ability to take that firs...

Michael Ellis was a compassionate, tenderhearted young man who lived "all in" for Jesus.  In today's episode Jill talks with Michael's mom and dad, Sean and Heather Ellis, about their son's ATV accident that broke them to the core and the faithfulness and presence of God in the aftermath.  They remind us that the more we're broken, the more we can experience the Lord...

In today's episode, Jill shares what she imagines it might be like when she gets to Heaven and sees her daughter Hannah again.  For more information about the While We're Waiting ministry and the free retreats for bereaved parents we offer around the country, click HERE . To make a tax-deductible donation to the While We're Waiting ministry, click HERE .  I would love to hear your t...

Josh King was the kind of friend everyone wants to have.  He loved kids, he loved playing the guitar, and he loved singing, even though his mom affectionately describes him as "tone deaf".   He battled anxiety and depression due to some challenging circumstances which ultimately culminated in him taking his own life in April of 2017.  Join Jill for a conversation with his mom and dad, Ju...

Mother's Day can be one of the hardest days of the year for a bereaved mom.  What used to be a quiet holiday set aside to recognize and honor the mothers in our lives has become an overly commercialized nearly month-long event.  It's inescapable!  And the cheerful cries of "Happy Mother's Day!" can be brutal to a hurting mom's heart.  In today's episode, Jill tal...

Today's conversation is surprisingly encouraging, even though Don and Patsy Akin have experienced the loss of all three of their sons ... one to murder, one to illness, and one to an accident.  Our discussion ranges from issues of Don's alcoholism, to anger, to forgiveness, to the restoration of joy, to learning to live life with an open palm.  For more information about the GriefShare m...

Arlo and Capri Weiskopf are the parents of four children, including Amoss, who went to Heaven nearly fifteen years ago as a result of a tragic accident in the driveway of their home.   Their story will speak to any parent who has felt they bear some responsibility for the death of their child.  In our conversation, you will hear deep desperation, grace-filled forgiveness, unanswerable questions, d...