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The death of one’s child is a grief like no other. As a bereaved parent, part of your very being has been cut off from you, and you must figure out how to live with that part of you missing. You will never be the same, but you can have hope that your life can still have meaning and purpose again, as you learn to live in a way that honors the life of your child instead of being stuck in the deep grief of his or her death. The Grieving Parents Sharing Hope podcast is an outreach of the nationa ...
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This was an unplanned episode, but Laura wanted to share some things before the week was over. With this being the week of Thanksgiving (here in the US) Laura started wondering if there is a difference between being thankful and being grateful. After listening to what she has to share, Laura would love to hear your thoughts. You can write them in t…
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The holidays can be absolutely brutal to those of us who have lost a child, especially those first few years. Even as we get further down the road, we never know how this time of year is going to affect us. In today's episode, Laura talks to two different pareavors on how they have navigated the holidays, both in the early years, and as they are no…
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Sometimes we can feel like God must not care, or He would not have let our child die and allow us to be in so much pain. There are many people in the Bible who also felt like God had abandoned them. In this episode, Laura shares a few of these, based on a song she likes to listen to occasionally, to remind her that God really does see our struggles…
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In today's short episode, Laura pulls out her response to an email she received quite a while back, thinking it might be helpful to others who are struggling with questions about things like God's goodness. Links Mentioned in this episode: Click here to find out more about Laura’s book When Tragedy Strikes: Rebuilding Your Life With Hope and Healin…
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Today you are going to hear from a new friend and fellow pareavor, Kim Avery. Kim has so many things to share from a heart that is kind and caring, while encouraging us to learn how to walk from the place of grace that God has for us for the moment we are in. Twenty years ago, Kim moved from being a professional counselor to working as a certified …
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When our child dies, it can feel like God betrayed us. We prayed for our kids, we took them to church, etc. In other words, we did what we were supposed to do, so why didn't God keep His end of things? In today's episode, Laura talks about looking beyond what we know here and now, encouraging the listeners to also take into consideration God's view…
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In those first few months (or even first two or three years) many pareavors (bereaved parents) have a hard time believing they will get to the point where they are not in the place of suffocating grief they have found themselves thrown into. There are thousands of pareavors who are several years down the road, who thought the same thing. But once t…
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We are very aware of the four seasons of the year, but have you thought about how our grief can have seasons as well? In this episode, Laura shares her thoughts about all four seasons, and how they correspond to the grief we deal with, in the loss of our child. Note: Laura also shares that for a season , she will be releasing a podcast every other …
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Do we know the difference between our soul and our spirit and how each of them affects us? As a bereaved parent, do we have a broken soul, a broken spirit, or both? Does it really matter? Listen in as Laura shares some insights that she believes the Lord has given her recently about this. Links Mentioned in this episode: Click here to recieve a per…
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Most of the time, when we use the word hope it is wishful thinking, as in I hope our team pulls out a win today. But when the word hope is used in scripture, God has a different meaning. Listen in, as Laura talks about this, and how important it is to be a prisoner of hope, as we find in Zechariah 9:12. A special thank you to Chris and ReNea Trebel…
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As parents who have lost a child, we all know people who have said things that are inappropriate or just plain hurtful. In this episode, you are going to hear from two very special ladies in a conversation with Laura, about things people say that are just not true, in their attempt to make us feel better. Sara Faith Nelson, has been on this journey…
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It seems many of us struggle to hear from God after the death of our child. We wonder why He has abandoned us when we need Him more than we ever have before. This was not Laura's original topic for this episode, but God directed her to change it unexpectedly, a few hours before she was planning on recording. Links Mentioned in this episode: To get …
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Have you ever stopped to think that your tears could possibly be a gift from God? That is something Laura explores in today’s talk, along with a few other observations that may be helpful to those who are grieving the loss of their child. Links Mentioned in this episode: To get My Grief Journey for only $5 (through July) click here. (Be sure to che…
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When we are in that dark pit of grief after child loss, we are in a very vulnerable place, making us an easy target for the enemy to get a foothold. It might be through things we were taught about God that make us angry at Him. It could be through our desperate need for peace, causing us to go down a path we would not have gone down before. Today's…
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After taking a month off for her sister's illness and unexpected passing, Laura is back. In this episode, she discusses how faith and fear have the same root, and how the choice we make to lean into one or the other will have an affect on our journey of child loss. Links Mentioned in this episode: Join us for a Weekend of Hope in Wisconsin this Aug…
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When we first lose our child from this earth, memories bring stabbing pain, because we realize that is all we have now. We can't make new memories. We feel like we will never be able to enjoy life again, even if we have other children, a wonderful spouse, or job or ministry we loved. How can we possibly smile, or ever be happy again after our child…
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In today's episode, Laura shares how she begged God to end her life after the death of her daughter. Eventually Laura decided that she did not want to live out the rest of her life as the shell of a person just waiting to die. As Laura shares her progression of going from wanting to die, to now living a life of meaning and purpose again, she does i…
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Waiting can be one of the hardest and most exhausting things to do. As parents who have lost a child from this earth, two things we seem to be waiting on the most are for it to stop hurting so much, and obviously waiting to be with our child again. This week Laura talks about waiting for it to stop hurting so much. Next week she will discuss waitin…
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After our child leaves this earth, most of us want to take Romans 8:28 out of our Bibles, especially when people throw that verse at us in a way that is supposed to make it all better. ( Remember, God promises to work everything out for good ) Laura has been in that place of suffocating darkness, and begged God to take her from this earth when her …
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If you know Laura, you know that she feels things deeply and tears come easily to her. Somehow, she manages to hold those tears back when recording the podcast episodes but not this time. A miracle is something only God can do, which is what we wanted (and even expected) for our children, either in a healing or in protection. When that doesn't happ…
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Mother's Day can be one of the most difficult days of the year for a mom after child loss. In this episode, Laura will be talking about both Mother's Day, and a special day the week before, which is International Bereaved Mother's Day, which is the first Sunday in May. Laura is very real and honest about her thoughts and feelings about all of this,…
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So much horrific pain and darkness comes with child loss. It doesn't matter how young or how old your child was when they left this earth. It doesn't matter if it was sudden or if it was long and drawn out. As pareavors (bereaved parents), we can bristle when others say they know how we feel, because of a different loss. We know what that feels lik…
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After the loss of a child, there are scriptures that used to get us excited that don't make any sense now. They seem untrue and maybe even cruel. In today's episode, Laura talks about one of those verses, Jeremiah 29:11, where God tells us He has good plans for us, to give us hope and a future. Links Mentioned in this episode: Click here for all th…
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Today's topic is one Laura gets asked about in emails, which is addressing the issue of losing friends we thought would be there for us in our time of grief. Laura and her guest, June Collins, talk about this from June’s experience of losing her 2-year-old son 12 years ago. Their conversation has a lot of nuggets that go beyond what or who we may l…
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If I am struggling with anger and confusion and my faith is rocky right now, shouldn't I pass on taking the elements of communion? In today's episode, Laura digs into 1 Corinthians 11, talking about the purpose of communion and what makes us unworthy . Based on scripture, Laura believes that we are not disqualified. Not only that, but occasionally …
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Easter Sunday can come with many different emotions for those of us who have lost a child. On one hand, we are thankful and want to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, who made it possible for us to be reunited with our children, never to be separated again. On the other hand, many of us struggle with going to a church service for this purpose, fo…
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When we have a child who is no longer with us here on earth, we can feel like we have no more future at least not a good one. In today's episode, Laura looks at Philippians 3:12-14 and other scriptures, sharing that even if our future here is not what we thought it would be, we do not have to live out the rest of our time here with a heaviness that…
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When we lose a child from this earth, we want to be done here and go be with them. Even if our head knows we have reasons to stay, our heart struggles to accept it. The pain and darkness can be all-consuming, and we cannot believe life will ever be worth living without our child. Podcast host, Laura Diehl, knows what that is like. In this episode, …
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Have you felt frustration that you are not going through the five stages of grief that you have heard about? In this episode, Laura shares why that is not only okay, but even to expected. Note: Thank you to Basia and Sebastian for sponsoring today's episode in memory of their son, Gabriel. Links Mentioned in this episode: Click here to sponsor a po…
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There are a lot of listeners who know Laura's daughter, Becca, died from heart issues. There are fewer listeners who know the cause of the heart issues, and not very many who know the full story, because Laura doesn't share it very often. In this episode, Laura shares from her heart what happened, and the 26 year journey it put them on, wrapping it…
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When Laura's daughter died, she remembers feeling so very shattered that she did not think it was possible to find all the pieces, much less have God put them all back together. But as she continued this unwanted journey, she began to see and understand that brokenness can become something beautiful. In this episode, Laura's hope and prayer is that…
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When our child leaves this earth, there are plenty of unexpected things that happen as we go along on this unwanted journey. Sometimes it is based on things we expected that just don’t happen the way we thought they would, and other times these unexpected things seem to come out of nowhere. In this episode, Laura wants to help pareavors be more pre…
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Many grieving parents who have faced child loss share how hard it is that everyone around them just keeps going on with their life as if nothing has happened, when their own life has come to a screeching halt after the death of their child. Laura shares a specific time and place she had that exact painful thought and how she eventually saw that a c…
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Every year, since 1998, Laura has asked the Lord for a scripture of what He wants to work into her life for that year. Several years ago, she also ask Him for a specific word, and many times that word and the scripture flowed together. Laura has shared on this topic before, but felt led to talk about it again, because this past year's verse for her…
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After taking a short break for the first time in four years, Laura is back to share on the topic of hope and how wishful thinking is not true hope. Hopelessness can leave us feeling weary and defeated, leaving us caught in a negative circle and not see any way out. In today's episode, Laura looks at Proverbs 13:12 which implies this very thing, alo…
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Advent is a time of waiting. This time of year, advent means waiting for Christmas to arrive. As bereaved parents, our advent is waiting for the day we can see and be with our children again. Fortunately, Jesus coming to earth was out of God's love for us, so that our separation is only temporary. In the meantime, we grieve deeply because we love d…
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Joy is something that seems impossible to have ever again, after the death of our child. In today's episode, Laura talks about this, along with sharing some details about someone in the Bible who had an extremely difficult life (that included the death of her child) that most of us can relate to. We can have joy in our lives once again, but it is s…
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Peace can be hard to come by after the death of our child, and the Christmas season can make it even more difficult to find the peace we so desperately need. In this episode, Laura starts with a recording of the live reading from the book Hope for the Future: An Advent Journey for Bereaved Parents (Week 2 Day One) on the topic of peace within the C…
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The Christmas season can be brutal for those of us who have lost a child, especially the first few years. One year, when Laura was struggling deeply connecting to the reason for the season she found herself crying out to God to show Himself as Emmanuel, God with us. She felt led to dig out the family advent wreath and found herself writing out some…
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When our child dies, we feel like we have been left wandering in a wilderness with no way out. Recently, Laura saw how the wilderness may have more to it than how she has seen it in the past, and that there just might be a different perspective we can have while in this wilderness experience. Links Mentioned in this episode: See the webpage for the…
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As we are all very aware, this week is Thanksgiving. As grieving parents, child loss can make it feel like it is impossible to ever be truly thankful again. Laura shares her heart about this family holiday, in hopes that it will be a help and encouragement to you. (Note: Most of this episode is a replay of a previous one on this topic, giving Dave …
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Those of us who have lost a child can begin to dread the end-of-the-year holidays way before they arrive, especially the Christmas season. Several years ago, as Laura struggled with this, she ended up putting together her own advent time with God. Today she talks about this, and how you can join her on a special advent journey, specifically for ber…
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Many believers in Christ struggle with their faith after child loss. It can feel like God did not keep His end of things, and some scriptures feel like a slap-in-the-face reminder of this. Instead of refusing to read the Word because of those verses, Laura discovered there were scriptures that took on a whole new meaning after her daughter died, th…
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Today is another topic that can be such a huge struggle for so many of us, which is what to do with our children's things when they are no longer here. Is it okay that I have left everything exactly where it was? What if I lost an adult child, and I wasn't given the things I wanted that were special to me? These are some of the things Laura talks a…
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Last week (episode 233) Laura talked about struggling with guilt after child loss. If you did not hear it, you may want to listen to that one first. In this episode, Laura continues addressing the topic of guilt; specifically about some of the reasons we may have a hard time releasing ourselves from the guilt we carry after the death of our child. …
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Guilt. It is something we all struggle with after the death of our child. We believe it is somehow our fault and that we should have done something differently so our child would still be here with us. We feel guilty that we did not/could not keep our child safe. Listen in, as Laura talks about this struggle we all face, and why we do not need to c…
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For most of us, what used to be just a normal date on the calendar has become the worst day of the year. This week, Laura hits that calendar day once again, which is October 12. Listen in, as she shares some of her thoughts on this topic we all have to deal with, as bereaved parents. Links Mentioned in this episode: Click here to leave a review for…
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We can get very frustrated (even angry) when someone tries to compare their loss to our loss of the death of our child. No one can possibly know the suffocating pit it hurls you into, unless you have found yourself in that same pit of child loss. There is another comparison that can frustrate us, and it is one we can make among each other if not ou…
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Sometimes God uses a movie or TV show to speak something to our hearts. In today's episode, Laura shares how there are some things based on Dorothy's journey in the classic movie Wizard of Oz, that can open our eyes to see some things about God we might be having a hard time seeing after the death of our child. Links Mentioned in this episode: Clic…
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When our child dies, many of us struggle with not wanting to continue living here on earth. We want to go be with our child, even if we know in our heads there are reasons to stay, such as other children or a spouse, friends, ministries, or a job we enjoy. How can we get past that feeling and be okay with being here (for who knows how long) without…
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