Grief touches almost every life, yet many of us feel unsure how to face it, name it, or talk about it. In this candid conversation, Tommy and longtime friend David Dwight (Senior Pastor at Hope Church in Richmond, VA) explore the complexity of grief and sadness. This is an honest, compassionate guide for anyone carrying loss or walking with someone who is.

“the presence of her absence is everywhere.” ~ Edna St. Vincent Millay

In This Episode:

- The language problem, grief vs sadness and why one word is not enough

- Myths that keep us silent, including the fear that talking about grief invites it

- The unhelpful urge to scale or compare grief and how to stop

- Different kinds of loss, extended illness, sudden death, suicide, job loss, broken relationships, losing a pet

- Family systems, differing timelines, and the need for permission and grace

- Guilt, shame, moments of happiness, and the surprising companion of relief

- Faith as refuge and wholeness when losses feel irreconcilable

Timestamps:

(0:00) Why We’re Finally Talking About Grief

(4:28) Why We Avoid Grief

(10:43) Permission and Grace

(17:58) Grief vs Sadness: Finding Better Words

(26:27) How Loss Changes Us

(36:08) What to Say (and Not Say)

(46:16) Families Grieve Differently

(55:32) When Acute Grief Becomes Lasting Sadness

(1:03:06) Guilt, Forgetting, and Moments of Joy

(1:10:08) Relief Alongside Sorrow

(1:15:30) Moving Forward With Hope

Resources:

- Psalm 46

- The Taste of New Wine, Keith Miller

- The Weathering Grace of God, Ken Gire

- Lament for a Son, Nicholas Wolterstorff

- A Grace Disguised, Gerald Sittser

- Healing the Heartbreak of Grief, Peter James Flamming

- Healing After Loss, Martha Hickman

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