Before I start the story of what I experienced when we had a suicide in our family, I am going to begin this blog with a request. This has been a very painful and difficult journey for our family. As we have talked about before, we all grieve differently. Knowing this truth, I would like…
In grief, we miss those that we lost so much. Sometimes, during those painful times, we have the blessing of being able to connect with someone else who is going through similar pain. I want to share two examples of two women, Delores and Stephanie, who have become dear friends of mine through our shared…
On February 13th, I had the great honor of sitting down with the Cox family. Their sweet family came over to my house, and I sat with my laptop as they so lovingly invited me in to their family time. They shared about Brenten, his life, and about their precious family. It will be a…
This past Sunday afternoon, a beautiful 16 year old young lady named Hannah lost her life in a car accident. She lived in a community close to ours and in this past week, I have learned much about this young lady who was beautiful both inside and out. The text came through from one of…
As we are in the midst of our busy holiday season, I have been thinking a lot about the holidays and special days and how these times are for those who are grieving and in pain. Often during the holidays, this is a time in our culture where others recognize that this is a difficult…
As the girls and I celebrated Thanksgiving 2017, there are so many things that our hearts are so grateful for. We had the blessing of being surrounded in complete love and joy by my husband’s family as our annual Thanksgiving traditions continue. Our family begin arriving on the Sunday before Thanksgiving with Nana and one…
When the girls and I were at Gooseberry Falls in Northern Minnesota this past June, we were amazed at all of the trees along the hiking trails that had their roots exposed. These tree roots can be described as gnarled and laid bare. It was truly amazing to walk along the hiking path and to…
October started in such a horrific way for our country… either we went to sleep on Sunday night October 1st hearing of the horrendous shootings in Las Vegas or we woke up Monday morning to the news. When you think back to when you heard the news of what was happening then what were your…
This past Monday, September 11th, our nation observed the events of the hideous attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001 in our country. Memorial services were being held at the different sites of the attacks. The families and friends who lost loved ones gathered to honor those who were killed on that horrendous day. Each…
Loneliness is a significant part of the grief journey. No matter what your relationship is to the person who has died then missing them and feeling the loss of their presence is one of the parts of grief that often surfaces throughout the grief journey. Webster’s dictionary defines lonely as “being without company or cut off from…