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Bleak
Last week I wrote about a song called Thanksgiving Song. I talked about how the words encourage me to think about an eventual Heavenly banquet where we will know eternal gratitude. If you’re like me, you’re still finishing up Thanksgiving leftovers. Maybe you have your Christmas tree up and lights on your house. Perhaps you…
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Thanksgiving Song
There’s a beautiful song by Mary Chapin Carpenter called simply “Thanksgiving Song.” The words are spare with repeating phrases almost like the blessing a child would say at dinner. It is poignant for anyone listening to it, but especially thought-provoking for a grieving parent. It goes: Grateful for each hand we holdGathered ’round this tableFrom…
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Here They Come Again
Here they come again. I should be better prepared by now. This will be my 65th time I’ve celebrated them. You know, the holidays. Although I don’t really remember the first few, but there is photographic evidence that I was there for them. As a child, I was always filled with joyful anticipation of the…
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Appreciation
Last week I wrote about our rural neighborhood and our interactions with our neighbors. If you’re a frequent reader, you may have wondered what that post had to do with child loss. I’ll tell you something I’ve learned in the seven-and-a-half years since my daughter died. It’s the little things in life I’ve come to…
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Neighbors (or why it takes an hour to get the mail)
We live in a rural area on a dirt road. The neighbors all know each other. If you’re driving down the road and meet another vehicle, it’s expected practice to wave even if you don’t recognize the driver. Before we moved here almost five years ago, we lived in a suburb of Tampa. We lived…
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Why I’m Still Here
This Thursday, the 31st will be Rachel’s birthday. It would be her 38th if she were still here on Earth; her 7th birthday spent in Heaven. I don’t know if birthdays are celebrated in Heaven. There is no passage of time in eternity. And every day is a celebration in the presence of God. But…
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Imperfect
Nobody’s perfect, right? We are all human. We know we are flawed, but it’s still so easy to compare ourselves to others and come up lacking. I mentioned in last week’s blog that I was going to be attending a retreat with some other bereaved mothers. It was even more of a blessing than I…
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What’s Your Story?
Psalm 107:2 says: “Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story.” We all have a story to tell. If you’re anywhere near my age, you’ve had some adventures, some tragedies, some comedies, some romances, some horrors, and some thrillers. Some of your stories might be reserved for certain audiences only. Also, if you’re like…
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Wait
I love to wait, don’t you? Just kidding. I’m not a very patient person. The speed at which things can typically happen now exacerbates my impatience when they are slow. Think about it: When I was a child, I was rarely allowed to call anyone long distance, especially my cousin who lived in another country.…
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Shoes
I’ve always had a thing for shoes. I get it from my mother. She always wore fashionable shoes. She had very narrow feet, so it was hard for her to find shoes that fit. There was a shoe store in a town about an hour away that she knew carried hard-to-find sizes. She checked the…
A Light for My Path
Carrying the torch for bereaved parents.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105
Why I’m Here
It feels impossible that I have lived for more than eight years now (ed. 2025) without one of my children in my life. Yet, here I am. And, here I will be for however many more years I have in this world.
I’ve learned a lot in these ensuing years. Some lessons I didn’t want to learn and some I wouldn’t have learned any other way than through losing Rachel. I would give anything to have remained ignorant. I have learned that losing a child changes you fundamentally, just as becoming a parent does. I have learned that those changes can be hard on relationships. That members of the same family will grieve differently, and we have to give each other grace. That deep and lasting grief can be frightening or uncomfortable to others. That some of those others will pull away. That many more others will stand beside you even when your changed self is hard to be around, awkward, talking too much, silent, laughing inappropriately, or crying uncontrollably.
What doesn’t change is God’s grace and mercy. He is here in the midst of the deepest grief. His Spirit groans for us when we don’t know what to pray. And, in my case, He led me to a wonderful group of other hurting hearts who shared their loss experiences, their faith struggles, and their recognition that though we grieve, we grieve with hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
I’ve decided that just maybe I’ve attained enough life lessons to be of some help to other grieving parents. To that end, I launched this blog site and a companion Facebook page. They are open to all, but the target audience is parents who have lost a child and those who love and want to support them. My posts reflect my Christian beliefs and will follow Biblical principles. I welcome questions, comments, humor, soul-baring, vulnerability, doubt, strength, and support.
Laura 3/28/2022
We are all just walking each other home.
Ram Dass
A Light for My Path 