Sometimes, silence screams. She harangues us with intrusive thoughts: You’re alone. You’ll always be alone. Nobody sees you. Nobody understands. Nobody cares. And for a valley-walker, the relentless shriek can […]
Grief Support
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Last Words
My husband’s last words to me were, “Not goodbye.” We were on a very brief video call with him before he was put on a ventilator. We hadn’t seen him […]
Grief Support
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When Grief is Loud
When you’re faced with an unwanted new life—devastated by loss—and you become overwhelmed by sorrow, Seek the face of the Savior. He knows the agony of separation and the anguish […]
Child Loss / Grief / Grief Support / Widowhood
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The Valley Between Gardens
Grief and joy, coexisting. So much pain and loss; so much for which to be thankful. Living in that juxtaposition is just part of life between the gardens, isn’t it? […]
Devotional / faith / Grief / Grief Support / Post-Traumatic Growth / Surrender / Widowhood
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Drop Your Nets and Follow Me
Change is hard—especially when it’s not my idea. Especially when it leads to the unknown. Especially when it means letting go. “Immediately they left their nets and followed him.” With […]
Child Loss / faith / Grief / Grief Support / New Year / Widowhood
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Prayer for a New Year
A Valley-Walker’s Prayer for a New Year Dear God, as we step into a brand new year, we lift up this honest and heartfelt prayer. Our hearts are full of […]
Christmas / devotional / faith / Grief / Grief Support / Holidays / hope / Waiting
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Hope Has Come: Advent
I can think of nothing that threatens my hope more than the silence of God—endless waiting with not so much as a whisper from the One on whom my expectation […]
faith / Grief / Grief Support / Thanksgiving / Widowhood
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What Does it Mean to be Blessed?
Are we really blessed? In our culture, we tend to think of blessings as: But Jesus said, blessed are: Those last 5 are not exactly blessings I would choose. But […]
faith / Grief / Grief Support / Thanksgiving
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Thankful for Grief
I am thankful for grief. Truly.Here’s why: 🥀 Grief is love. Not, “I once loved,” but rather, “I love still.” I am privileged to have had a love that was […]
Child Loss / devotional / faith / Grief / Grief Support / Trauma / Widowhood
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Healing from the Inside Out
Years ago, following our baby girl’s open heart surgery, doctors were unable to close her sternum, so they sewed a patch over her incision, and sent her to the PICU. […]
Child Loss / devotional / faith / Grief / Grief Support / Resurrection / seasons / Trauma / Widowhood
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Death Gives Way to Life
It was a sunny October afternoon when death came to visit. Once my favorite season—filled with family birthdays at apple orchards, hot pumpkin spice lattes on crisp, frosty mornings and […]
Devotional / Grief / Grief Support / Widowhood
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Mercy Met Me There
Four years ago, today, I stood in a hospital corridor, begging God for the life of this man. There are no words sufficient to describe what my whole being was […]