Can grace and grief exist together when your child has died? Through Paul’s experience with the thorn in his flesh, Laura gently explores what it means when God does not remove the pain, yet promises that His grace will meet us within it.

This episode also addresses the hurtful idea that a grieving parent must “let go” of their child before healing or receiving God’s blessings. The death of our child was not good, but that does not mean God cannot bring meaning, purpose and good things into our lives while we continue to carry both our love and our grief.

Free printable guide: Rebuilding Your Life: A Gentle Guide Toward Hope and Healing After Child Loss.

If this episode stirred something in your heart, you’ll find gentle Weekly Reflection Questions waiting for you in our Patreon community.

We lovingly remember and celebrate the lives of:

Nicole Zanoni Romualdo was born on September 21 and is forever 16 months old.

Cassandra Noel Persichetti was born on September 24 and is forever 17.

Visit gpshope.org/birthdays to submit your child’s name and date so we can honor them, too.

The special song written for our children’s birthdays I Remember Well can be heard here.

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and minister at your event, contact us at [email protected].

Grieving Parents Sharing Hope (GPS Hope) is here to walk with parents through the darkness of child-loss, guiding them to a place of hope, light and purpose.

It is a safe place for anyone who has lost a child from this earth. There is no shame or judgment in where you are in this journey, including if you are struggling in your relationship with God or your faith has been completely shattered.

Grief can hit without warning in the middle of an ordinary day, or even a genuinely good one. A song, a familiar scent, an innocent comment, or something as simple as seeing our child’s favorite cereal can suddenly bring the pain rushing back. Sometimes we know exactly what caused it; other times, the sadness or anxiety arrives before we understand why.

In this episode, Laura talks about these unexpected grief moments, why the words used to describe them may feel different to each pareavor, and what can help when one happens in public or while driving. Most importantly, she offers the reassurance that being caught off guard by grief does not mean you have gone backward or lost the healing that has already taken place.

Find out more about The GPS Hope Grief Cruise in October, 2027.

Free printable guide: Rebuilding Your Life: A Gentle Guide Toward Hope and Healing After Child Loss.

If this episode stirred something in your heart, you’ll find gentle Weekly Reflection Questions waiting for you in our Patreon community.

We lovingly remember and celebrate the lives of:

Johnathan Andrews was born on September 15 and is forever 32.

Rodney Lorenz was born on September 18 and is forever 49.

Marco Diosdado was born on September 18 and is forever 34.

Cali Minor was born on September 19 and is forever 19.

Visit gpshope.org/birthdays to submit your child’s name and date so we can honor them, too.

The special song written for our children’s birthdays I Remember Well can be heard here.

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and minister at your event, contact us at [email protected].

Grieving Parents Sharing Hope (GPS Hope) is here to walk with parents through the darkness of child-loss, guiding them to a place of hope, light and purpose.

It is a safe place for anyone who has lost a child from this earth. There is no shame or judgment in where you are in this journey, including if you are struggling in your relationship with God or your faith has been completely shattered.

“My child died.” For some pareavors, those words feel painfully harsh and impossible to say. Others may choose “passed away,” “went to Heaven,” “is gone,” or “I lost my child” because those words soften a reality their hearts are still struggling to comprehend. Yet the language that comforts one grieving parent may be difficult or even upsetting for another.

In this episode, Laura explores the meaning and emotions carried by the words we use to talk about our child’s death. There is no right or wrong phrase and no deadline for being able to say certain words. This episode will help you give yourself permission to use the words that feel most honest and bearable to your heart, even if they are different from the words another pareavor chooses.

This episode was sponsored by Teck-Min Ho, from Singapore, in memory of his daughter Emma.

Find out more about The GPS Hope Grief Cruise in October, 2027.

GPS Hope & Healing retreat, October 16-18, in Sarasota, FL

Free printable guide: Rebuilding Your Life: A Gentle Guide Toward Hope and Healing After Child Loss.

Click here to support the podcast and join Laura on Patreon for extra content

We lovingly remember and celebrate the lives of:

Alyshia DeFranco was born on September 6 and is forever 24.

Brady Keith Herbert was born on September 7 and is forever 30.

Jacob Sorouri was born on September 8 and is forever 32.

Emma Ho was born on September 9 and is forever 10.

Petrina Charlean Bostic was born on September 12 and is forever 23.

Visit gpshope.org/birthdays to submit your child’s name and date so we can honor them, too.

The special song written for our children’s birthdays I Remember Well can be heard here.

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and minister at your event, contact us at [email protected].

Grieving Parents Sharing Hope (GPS Hope) is here to walk with parents through the darkness of child-loss, guiding them to a place of hope, light and purpose.

It is a safe place for anyone who has lost a child from this earth. There is no shame or judgment in where you are in this journey, including if you are struggling in your relationship with God or your faith has been completely shattered.

We are living in God’s love story, but that story is currently set in a world at war. As pareavors, we understand the casualties of that war in a way we never wanted to. How do we hold on to the truth of God’s love while also facing the pain, evil and devastating loss that are part of this broken world?

In this episode, Laura shares how this picture has helped her hold those difficult truths together. She talks about the comfort of knowing our children are no longer living in the setting of war, the difference between seeking God’s presents and His presence, and why being overcome by grief is not the same as giving in to self-pity. Even when we cannot understand how this painful part fits into God’s love story, we can trust that the war is not the whole story, and it does not get to decide the ending.

Find out more about The GPS Hope Grief Cruise in October, 2027.

Free printable guide: Rebuilding Your Life: A Gentle Guide Toward Hope and Healing After Child Loss.

GPS Hope & Healing retreat, October 16-18, in Sarasota, FL

Click here to support the podcast and join Laura on Patreon for extra content

Visit gpshope.org/birthdays to submit your child’s name and date so we can honor them, too.

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and minister at your event, contact us at [email protected].

Grieving Parents Sharing Hope (GPS Hope) is here to walk with parents through the darkness of child-loss, guiding them to a place of hope, light and purpose.

It is a safe place for anyone who has lost a child from this earth. There is no shame or judgment in where you are in this journey, including if you are struggling in your relationship with God or your faith has been completely shattered.

In part two of Laura’s conversation with Becky Russell, they continue exploring the four parts of our worldview by turning to meaning and destiny. Becky shares how serving others in simple, everyday ways helped her begin to rediscover meaning after Jae Lin’s death. They also discuss the hope of heaven, the continuation of love, and how our beliefs about what comes after this life can provide a framework for processing the pain of child loss.

Becky also shares the powerful manifesto she wrote when a trusted friend encouraged her to stop focusing on what she no longer believed and begin identifying what she still knew to be true. If grief has left you questioning God, your faith, or whether life can ever be worth living again, this honest conversation will encourage you to consider what you do believe and allow those truths to become an anchor when doubt and fear creep in.

Becky Russell, RN, MA, MSN, has spent her entire adult life in some form of extending mercy to others. As a registered nurse, with two master’s degrees in health care administration and education, she practiced in a variety of roles of Intensive Care, Cardiac Rehabilitation and Education. She recently retired from Baptist Health as the Director of Clinical Learning and Professional Development.

During her career, Becky spent years helping others navigate grief. Then on March 18, 2004, her daughter, Jae Lynn, and two of Jae Lynn’s friends, were killed in a car accident, and Becky found herself navigating her own deep grief. After the devastating loss, Becky joined and then began to facilitate a monthly support group for The Bereaved Parents of the USA. She is a creative national and local speaker and authors the Facebook blog “Weepyseeds”. Becky lives in Arkansas, with her husband, Ralph, of 44 years, and is the mother of Jae Lynn’s two surviving sisters.

(Note: The views and opinions of our guests outside of this podcast may not be in agreement with GPS Hope.)

Connect with Becky Russel:

Weepyseeds blog

Personal Facebook page 

Find out more about The GPS Hope Grief Cruise in October, 2027.

Free printable guide: Rebuilding Your Life: A Gentle Guide Toward Hope and Healing After Child Loss.

Click here to support the podcast and join Laura on Patreon for extra content

We lovingly remember and celebrate the lives of:

Corey Thompsen was born on August 28 and is forever 28.

Samantha Kesich was born on August 28 and is forever 22.

Visit gpshope.org/birthdays to submit your child’s name and date so we can honor them, too.

The special song written for our children’s birthdays I Remember Well can be heard here.

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and minister at your event, contact us at [email protected].

Grieving Parents Sharing Hope (GPS Hope) is here to walk with parents through the darkness of child-loss, guiding them to a place of hope, light and purpose.

It is a safe place for anyone who has lost a child from this earth. There is no shame or judgment in where you are in this journey, including if you are struggling in your relationship with God or your faith has been completely shattered.

In this episode, Laura talks with Becky Russell about her daughter, Jae, who died in a car accident at sixteen. Becky shares how her deep spiritual foundation was shaken by the confusion and questions that followed, leaving her to wrestle with beliefs she once thought were unshakable.

Laura and Becky begin exploring four parts of our worldview that influence how we process grief: origin, morality, meaning, and destiny. In this first half of their conversation, they focus on origin and morality, discussing what we believe about where life comes from, how we determine truth, and what happens when child loss brings spiritual mayhem into everything we thought we knew. If your child’s death has left you confused about God or questioning beliefs you once felt certain about, this honest conversation is one you will want to hear.

Becky Russell, RN, MA, MSN, has spent her entire adult life in some form of extending mercy to others. As a registered nurse, with two master’s degrees in health care administration and education, she practiced in a variety of roles of Intensive Care, Cardiac Rehabilitation and Education. She recently retired from Baptist Health as the Director of Clinical Learning and Professional Development.

During her career, Becky spent years helping others navigate grief. Then on March 18, 2004, her daughter, Jae Lynn, and two of Jae Lynn’s friends, were killed in a car accident, and Becky found herself navigating her own deep grief. After the devastating loss, Becky joined and then began to facilitate a monthly support group for The Bereaved Parents of the USA. She is a creative national and local speaker and authors the Facebook blog “Weepyseeds”. Becky lives in Arkansas, with her husband, Ralph, of 44 years, and is the mother of Jae Lynn’s two surviving sisters.

(Note: The views and opinions of our guests outside of this podcast may not be in agreement with GPS Hope.)

 This podcast episode is being sponsored by Chris and ReNae Trebelhorn, in honor of their son, Aaron.

Would you like to honor your child by sponsoring a podcast episode on a meaningful week? Click here.

Find out more about The GPS Hope Grief Cruise in October, 2027.

Click here to find out more about the word pareavor.

Click here to support the podcast and join Laura on Patreon for extra content

We lovingly remember and celebrate the lives of:

Aaron Trebelhorn was born on August 16 and is forever 21.

Jadyn Philipps was born on August 17 and is forever 18.

Kevin Zick was born on August 21 and is forever 33.

Visit gpshope.org/birthdays to submit your child’s name and date so we can honor them, too.

The special song written for our children’s birthdays I Remember Well can be heard here.

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and minister at your event, contact us at [email protected].

Grieving Parents Sharing Hope (GPS Hope) is here to walk with parents through the darkness of child-loss, guiding them to a place of hope, light and purpose.

It is a safe place for anyone who has lost a child from this earth. There is no shame or judgment in where you are in this journey, including if you are struggling in your relationship with God or your faith has been completely shattered.

Have you ever had a thought that completely changed the way you looked at something? In this episode, Laura shares a simple but profound realization that came to her while responding to an email from another grieving parent. We often say that unless someone has lost a child, they cannot possibly understand the depth of our pain. But what if the same is true of heaven? What if our children know something we simply can’t understand until we experience it ourselves?

Join Laura as she gently explores this perspective, talks honestly about still missing our children while rejoicing in where they are, encourages those who aren’t sure their child is in heaven, and reminds us that we can trust the heart of a God who loves our children even more than we do. This thoughtful episode offers hope, reassurance, and a fresh glimpse of eternity for every pareavor.

My Grief Journey, My Grief Journey for Kids and other books by Laura: www.gpshope.org/books

To receive the weekly email of encouragement Laura was referring to click here.

Click here to support the podcast and join Laura on Patreon for extra content

Check out all the GPS Hope resources here.

We lovingly remember and celebrate the life of:

Travis M. Blair was born on August 9 and is forever 30.

Christopher Hotch was born on August 10 and is forever 31.

Visit gpshope.org/birthdays to submit your child’s name and date so we can honor them, too.

The special song written for our children’s birthdays I Remember Well can be heard here.

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and minister at your event, contact us at [email protected].

Grieving Parents Sharing Hope (GPS Hope) is here to walk with parents through the darkness of child-loss, guiding them to a place of hope, light and purpose.

It is a safe place for anyone who has lost a child from this earth. There is no shame or judgment in where you are in this journey, including if you are struggling in your relationship with God or your faith has been completely shattered.

What do you do when you’re living a life you never would have chosen? In this episode, Laura shares why there isn’t an easy path after the death of a child, but there are choices that can gently lead us toward hope. Through personal stories and biblical encouragement, she explores how God meets us in the small decisions that help us keep moving forward.

If you’ve ever found yourself thinking, “It’s hopeless,” this episode offers a simple but life-changing question: “That depends… what am I hoping in?” Discover how choosing one small step at a time can help you trust the God of hope as He helps you learn how to live a life you never wanted, and promises to walk with you.

Information about the Reflections of Hope Book.

GPS Hope & Healing retreat, October 16-18, in Sarasota, FL

Click here to support the podcast and join Laura on Patreon for extra content

Check out all the GPS Hope resources here.

We lovingly remember and celebrate the life of:

Erinn McGee, born on August 7 and is forever 34.

Visit gpshope.org/birthdays to submit your child’s name and date so we can honor them, too.

The special song written for our children’s birthdays I Remember Well can be heard here.

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and minister at your event, contact us at [email protected].

Grieving Parents Sharing Hope (GPS Hope) is here to walk with parents through the darkness of child-loss, guiding them to a place of hope, light and purpose.

It is a safe place for anyone who has lost a child from this earth. There is no shame or judgment in where you are in this journey, including if you are struggling in your relationship with God or your faith has been completely shattered.

After the death of a child, many bereaved parents find themselves asking a question they never expected: Who am I now? In this episode, Laura shares a powerful excerpt from her Rebuilding Your Life with Hope and Healing workshop, exploring how child loss can affect our identity in ways we don’t always recognize. With compassion and biblical truth, she reminds pareavors that while grief changes us, it does not define who we are.

Laura also shares why so many grieving parents have responded by saying rebuilding their lives feels impossible, and why there is hope for discovering who you are again. If you’ve ever felt like you’ve lost yourself along with your child, this episode will encourage you that you’re not alone, there’s nothing wrong with you, and God is gently walking with you every step of the way.

When you’re ready for the next step, the Rebuilding Your Life After Child Loss Workshops will be here to walk that path with you.

GPS Hope & Healing retreat, October 16-18, in Sarasota, FL

Click here to support the podcast and join Laura on Patreon for extra content

Check out all the GPS Hope resources here.

We lovingly remember and celebrate the lives of:

Daniel Krawiec was born on July 28 and is forever 32.

Joey Ray was born on July 28 and is forever 26.

Dayne Sturm was born on July 29 and is forever 21.

Lauren Miller Dobbins was born on July 30 and is forever 33.

Anthony Jordan Puhl was born on August 1 and is forever 30.

Visit gpshope.org/birthdays to submit your child’s name and date so we can honor them, too.

The special song written for our children’s birthdays I Remember Well can be heard here.

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and minister at your event, contact us at [email protected].

Grieving Parents Sharing Hope (GPS Hope) is here to walk with parents through the darkness of child-loss, guiding them to a place of hope, light and purpose.

It is a safe place for anyone who has lost a child from this earth. There is no shame or judgment in where you are in this journey, including if you are struggling in your relationship with God or your faith has been completely shattered.

After the death of a child, one of the hardest questions a grieving parent can ask is, “Where do I go from here?” In this episode of the Grieving Parents Sharing Hope podcast, Laura Diehl shares why healing after child loss doesn’t happen all at once, but one gentle step at a time. Through personal reflection, biblical encouragement, and practical wisdom, she reminds bereaved parents that God rarely reveals the whole journey. Instead, He faithfully provides the next step.

Laura also introduces the newly reorganized Rebuilding Your Life with Hope and Healing workshops, explaining how they have been thoughtfully reorganized to make it easier to know where to begin and how the three courses build on one another. Whether you’re just beginning your grief journey or wondering what comes next after reading When Tragedy Strikes, this episode offers hope, encouragement, and a gentle reminder that you don’t have to walk this road alone.

When you’re ready for the next step, the Rebuilding Your Life After Child Loss Workshops will be here to walk that path with you.

Click here to support the podcast and join Laura on Patreon for extra content

Check out all the GPS Hope resources here.

We lovingly remember and celebrate the lives of:

Ryan Burdette was born on July 22 and is forever 32.

Visit gpshope.org/birthdays to submit your child’s name and date so we can honor them, too.

The special song written for our children’s birthdays I Remember Well can be heard here.

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and minister at your event, contact us at [email protected].

Grieving Parents Sharing Hope (GPS Hope) is here to walk with parents through the darkness of child-loss, guiding them to a place of hope, light and purpose.

It is a safe place for anyone who has lost a child from this earth. There is no shame or judgment in where you are in this journey, including if you are struggling in your relationship with God or your faith has been completely shattered.