This week on the podcast Jennifer Tyler joins me to answer your questions about God and faith specifically after experiencing loss and amidst grief. Jennifer is a Bible teacher and founder of SoulCircles Ministries and is passionate about helping women learn how to study the Bible, as she says “not just for information but for transformation.”  I am so grateful for the wisdom and insight Jennifer offers us in this interview – as someone who has studied the Bible in an in depth way but also as a mother who has experienced loss.

We begin our time with Jennifer sharing her motherhood journey with us – a journey that began before she was a Christian, as a 17 year old with an unexpected pregnancy that ended in an abortion. She speaks honestly about this part of her story, sharing how she felt then and also how God has met her in this part of her story. Years later, Jennifer would marry and begin trying to grow her family, she shares of her early pregnancy loss and a loss after walking through ivf.

Jennifer is sharing from a place of being an invisible mother, with no living children yet – a place that can be difficult to see how God is good and is working good. Exactly one of the reasons I thought Jennifer could speak honestly about this topic of God and faith after loss and amidst grief.

One question that I ask Jennifer that feels especially helpful and a question that maybe you have asked: Is my loss a result of something I have done wrong? Did I lose my baby because God is punishing me for some former sin? Something in my past? Jennifer’s answer to this is both helpful and hopeful.

I loved this interview and am so grateful for Jennifer’s wisdom and story, her honesty and hope – make sure to listen all the way to the end when she says: “God can handle our questions. He knows what you're experiencing. He knows that you're wrestling and He can handle that. So I would encourage you to pour it out all on the table to Him.” I pray this conversation blesses you today.

 

QUESTIONS WE DISCUSS IN EPISODE NO. 178

1. What would you say to the woman asking: “Is God powerful enough to heal my baby? Did He just choose not to?”
2. Why does suffering exist? What is God’s role in our suffering? Did He plan it or allow it? What does that mean for me and my baby(s)
3. Why does God allow us to suffer & not protect us?
4. What does it mean when people say, “God will use you or this for His glory”? How could the loss of a child be used for His glory? 
5. How can I trust God now and what does that look like practically?
6. How would you answer the woman asking: "What did I do wrong? Is my suffering a result of something I have done wrong? Did I lose my baby because God is punishing me for some former sin?"
7. What does it look like to experience joy while still grieving and lamenting? What does joy mean? What does lament even mean
8. What spiritual resources would you recommend for a grieving mom? 

 

 

FREE DEVOTIONAL

Written specifically for the grieving mom – it is so simple and will offer hope and comfort and truth. From one grieving mom to another, trust me when I say, this mini devotional is worth checking out – and it’s totally free so make sure to go download that here > www.themorning.com/faith

 

FREE GRIEF GUIDE

Our best and most helpful resources for navigating grief and life after loss all in one place. Plus a list of our favorite books for children about grief and loss. Download Here.

 

JOIN OUR FREE ONLINE COMMUNITYwww.themorning.com/community

 

SHOW NOTESwww.themorning.com/blog/episode177

 

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