Hope After Child Loss

 "GOD rescued me when Austin went to Heaven by allowing me to understand that Heaven is a real place, more wonderful than we can imagine."  Kim Erickson, noted speaker, and author of "Surviving Sorrow: A Mother's Guide to Living with Loss." Losing her beautiful 3 year old son, Austin, to a strep throat infection in April 2008, Kim's life was shattered and put on a trajectory she could never have imagined. Join us as Kim and I talk about her grief journey, how she and her husband Devon navigated their new reality as a couple while giving each other space to grief individually, and most importantly, how GOD revealed His love and compassion in her deepest pain and trauma. Kim's story is one that's filled with raw, transparent honesty while offering hope and encouragement to the listener. 
https://www.kimaerickson.com/

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A continuation of Greg and Cathy Buffkin's story of losing our beautiful 26 year old son Ryan to suicide in October 2015. Ours is a journey from the brokenness of unspeakable loss and pain to experiencing GOD's goodness as He began making something beautiful from all those broken pieces and restoring meaning, purpose and hope to our lives. 

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In this 2 part interview, our friend Danielle Zapchenck , host of The Parable Podcast, guest-hosts for me as we dive into the journey my wife Cathy and I have been living since October 25, 2015 when our beautiful 26 year old son Ryan took his own life. While our story is one of deep tragedy and brokenness, it's more than that. It's one where GOD enters into our pain and suffering and demonstrates His love, kindness, compassion and grace in ways that we could never have imagined. You will learn how He has continued to meet us in the darkest season of our lives to heal and restore us, as well as taking what was meant for evil, and turning it into something good and beautiful. We hope you'll be encouraged.

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What do we do when our deepest fear suddenly becomes our new reality? How do we even begin to process and navigate the pain and grief we never could have imagined? This is where Teresa Davis found herself on November 28, 2018 when she learned that her 32 year old son, Andrew had died when the plane he was piloting crashed in a very remote area, leaving behind a young wife and two children. Desperately wanting answers to so many questions, Teresa experienced a crisis of faith for the first time in her life. " The eyes of grief sent me on a quest to see if I believed GOD was what He said He was." In our conversation you will learn what she discovered on this quest and how GOD began to heal her brokenness and restored hope, meaning and purpose. Today Teresa hosts her own podcast called the Grief Mentor Show, and offers personal grief mentoring to other bereaved moms. She is the author of a devotional entitled " Finding Hope and Healing in the Midst of Grief" available through most major book outlets. I believe you will find Teresa's story refreshingly transparent and relatable. 
https://thegriefmentor.com/author/tdtldavis83/

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In this episode, well known author and speaker Vaneetha Risner and I talk about her long journey of loss and suffering beginning with childhood polio, several miscarriages, the death of her infant son Paul, post-polio syndrome, betrayal and abandonment by her first husband, and caring for young daughters alone while battling illness. We talk about how GOD lovingly met her in the fire of suffering, using it to radically transform her, and then "watched Him turn her suffering into a conduit of grace and a passion for helping other people find hope in their suffering". In her book, "Walking Through Fire: A Memoir of Loss and Redemption", Vaneetha shares her journey of grief and suffering. Her life and ministry paint a picture of how Jesus can transform our storms into something beautiful, doing so much "more than we can even ask or imagine" (Eph.3:20)
https://www.vaneetha.com/

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Every year, approximately 11,000 people are killed by drunk drivers, an astounding number. Jenny Leavitt's 17 year old son, Jacob, was one of them in August, 2015. Miraculously, her 29 year old son, Caleb, survived, but was left with catastrophic injuries requiring a long period of healing and recovery. How do parents survive and navigate something so traumatic and senseless? Jenny, already a stage 4 cancer survivor, candidly shares her journey from brokenness, pain, and anger towards GOD, to a place of healing and restoration. Listen as Jenny shares how GOD demonstrated His love and faithfulness during her darkest season of pain and suffering, ultimately leading her to author an award winning book entitled: "GodPrints, Finding Evidence of God in the Shattered Pieces of Life." Her website, jennyleavitt.com, is rich with helpful resources for bereaved parents, as well as home to Jenny's blog.
https://jennyleavitt.com/

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As the day began to unfold on June 28, 2023, life as they knew it would never again be the same for Tobe and Amy as they learned their precious, beautiful 28 year old daughter Abbie had taken her own life after a long battle with depression and PTSD. Tobe and Amy had witnessed the pain and suffering of others as they grieved their loved ones in his role as a church pastor, but nothing could have prepared them for this. The death of a child leaves parents feeling shattered and empty; suicide adds a layer of complication,  disbelief, guilt, and endless unanswered questions. At times raw and emotional, Tobe and Amy talk with me about how they’ve navigated the first year of their grief journey. I believe you’ll find their honesty and transparency refreshing as they share how GOD has lovingly and tenderly carried them through the worst a parent can experience to establishing a nonprofit ministry, Safe Helps Group, less than a year later. Listen as they talk about their mission to bring a greater level of awareness to suicide prevention and some of the factors that often trigger it, ministering to those affected by suicide loss, and understanding complicated
http://www.safehelps.org/
mailto:[email protected]

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In our previous episode, Michael’s daughter, Jennifer Bullock-Moore, shared the story of the tragic loss of her beautiful son Miles to stillbirth in September 2021. Grandparents, like surviving siblings, are often overlooked following the death of a child, but their grief is just as real. In this episode, Michael describes the heartbreaking pain of losing his grandson and the intense weight of trying to navigate his own grief journey, while also grieving for his precious daughter and the pain and suffering she has had to endure. As a seasoned pastor who had counseled and comforted many grieving people over the years, Michael shares how he was completely unprepared for the level of grief and pain he experienced when it became very personal. Listen as he talks about how GOD lead him to capture his family’s journey from unspeakable tragedy to healing and restored hope, meaning and purpose in a book he authored, entitled “Even Now I Know, A Journey from Grief to Gratitude”. In 2023, Michael and his family founded Miles’ Mission, a non-profit organization in honor of Miles “where grief transforms into advocacy, and hope becomes a powerful force for change.”
https://milesmission.com/

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2022 statistics from the National Institutes of Health mirror findings of an investigation by ProPublica into the U.S. stillbirth crisis in which more than 20,000 pregnancies every year are lost at 20 weeks or more with the baby being born dead.
As the news anchor for the local NBC affiliate in Columbus, Ohio, Jenn’s pregnancy was celebrated and followed in a very public manner. But on October 11, 2021 tragedy struck when her beautiful son, Miles Owen, was stillborn at 33 weeks with little warning. Listen as Jenn shares her story of unspeakable loss and brokenness, finding herself in a very dark debilitating place, and how, through GOD’s kindness and grace, along with the love and support of her family eventually emerged from the ashes to rediscover hope, meaning and purpose. Learn how she and her family are letting GOD use their suffering to bring about much needed reforms within the healthcare system as it relates to the care of parents with stillborn babies by partnering with hospitals as well as state and local legislatures through Miles’ Mission, a non-profit they founded in 2023. Click on the link below to learn more.
https://milesmission.com/

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In this episode, noted author, speaker and podcaster, Aubrey Sampson, talks with me about her personal grief journey and a crisis of faith following the sudden, tragic death of her cousin Cameron in a snow hiking accident. Describing Cameron as being like a brother, his untimely death resulted in a season of very deep grief and depression. As if that weren’t enough, after waking up one morning suddenly unable to walk, Aubrey was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease … all within a matter of months. Join us as she shares how GOD met her in the deepest pain and struggle of her life and led her to a place of healing and restoration. In her book, “The Louder Song”, Aubrey describes how the Biblical concept of lament played an instrumental role in her healing journey, ultimately restoring her joy and renewed purpose. 
You can purchase this book, as well as her latest publication, “Big Feelings Days” (for children grieving loss) from all major book outlets.

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