WE FINALLY GOT MARRIED!

After an absolute roller coaster this past year that delayed our wedding including more trauma, more grief, and more death, we are so excited to finally be married and start a new life together with all of our amazing kids.

In this episode you'll hear how it all happened - including a big surprise - what our plans are, and how we're adapting to this new reality.

---

DONATE TO THE MICHAL FOUNDATION: https://www.runtothehard.com/give

Rate The Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/rtth

Become a Sponsor: https://www.runtothehard.com/sponsors

Share The Episode...Remember, "Running to the hard is better, when we run together".

CHAPTERS

0:00 We're married!

2:11 Major God breakthrough

7:16 Breakthrough + Tragedy

15:48 The wedding

20:45 God's work through Chris and Crystal's brother

24:25 The elephant in the room

27:11 The God wave

31:05 In tune with God in relationship

39:50 20 more good years?

43:20 God moves in Crystal's life

50:46 Surrender

Curtis reflects on year three of grief after the passing of his wife, Michal.

What began as crushing sorrow has slowly transformed into a season of quiet healing, memories, and even new beginnings.

Curtis opens up about how grief changes with time...how the pain softens but the love and lessons remain.

From walking through loss with his fiancée Crystal to finding hope amid darkness, his story is a raw and redemptive look at what it means to heal.

Whether you're in the early days of loss or years down the road, this episode will remind you that God's greatest work often begins in our deepest hurt.

---

DONATE TO THE MICHAL FOUNDATION: https://www.runtothehard.com/give

Rate The Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/rtth

Become a Sponsor: https://www.runtothehard.com/sponsors

Share The Episode...Remember, "Running to the hard is better, when we run together".

---

CHAPTERS

0:00 Intro

0:51 The difference at 3 years after loss

8:04 The many waves of grief

11:08 Acceptance

13:24 Having a relationship while grieving

14:59 Charlie Kirk's passing from a grief perspective

22:28 How the kids are grieving 3 years in

31:42 Darkness and breakthroughs

36:07 New traditions

39:49 Talking to the deceased while grieving?

46:55 Practice what you preach

Ever feel like grief has literally changed the way your brain works?

You're not alone.

It's like it rewires things in there.

Memory issues. Compartmentalization. Checking out. Difficulty connecting.

Curtis shares his raw and real experience with what he calls "grief brain" in an effort to help you know you're not alone, and hopefully to start down the path of healing.

But, we also talk about finding purpose and motivation in grief, what grieving does to relationships, and how Curtis is trying to take every thought captive with examples from his life.

Join us.

---

DONATE TO THE MICHAL FOUNDATION: https://www.runtothehard.com/give

Rate The Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/rtth

Become a Sponsor: https://www.runtothehard.com/sponsors

Share The Episode...Remember, "Running to the hard is better, when we run together".

CHAPTERS

0:00 Grief Brain

8:18 Getting Stuck in "Boxes"

18:13 Motivation in Grief

22:52 Finding Purpose in Grief

28:17 Grief Makes It Hard To Connect

39:18 Seriously Taking Thoughts Captive

41:58 Not What I Envisioned Life To Look Like

47:17 God Uses The Hard Stuff To Prepare Us

52:12 Prayer

MENTIONED

PTSD Episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoI0rDmSDcM

Is it just grief that's impacting you?

Or is PTSD partially to blame?

One off-handed remark from Curtis triggered something in Crystal, who knew about PTSD, and asked him to look into it further.

Turns out, Curtis has experienced most of the top 10 most common reasons people suffer from PTSD, and exhibits many of the symptoms.

This is a whole new level of healing and growth that they're entering into. This realization is huge and hopefully gives you some permission to look a little into your past with some self-reflection to see what else you might be dealing with alongside your grief.

---

DONATE TO THE MICHAL FOUNDATION: https://www.runtothehard.com/give

Rate The Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/rtth

Become a Sponsor: https://www.runtothehard.com/sponsors

Share The Episode...Remember, "Running to the hard is better, when we run together".

CHAPTERS

0:00 Intro

2:40 I've experienced 8 of the top 10 reasons people have PTSD

12:33 Dealing with all the symptoms of PTSD (while grieving)

16:42 The tornado of grief and chaos recently

18:16 Helping the kids with grief and potential PTSD

21:03 Self-reflecting and the path forward

31:55 Righteous Judgement

35:10 The healing process

39:03 Why it's hard to surrender control

43:31 How will God use this?

This is the epic conclusion to our 3 part series with Curtis and Crystal, walking through the absolute "shipwreck" of their lives right now.

They're grieving their spouses deaths...

Curtis' step-children's dad passes away...

Their wedding was canceled...

Old grief is being brought to the surface as they navigate death, grief, the legal system...

Their ways of managing the overwhelm have them feeling disconnected...

There's no way you could make up something like this. It's just too much.

And yet...

By God's grace, they are here and they keep going.

Join me in this final instalment, and please...pray for them.

---

DONATE TO THE MICHAL FOUNDATION: https://www.runtothehard.com/give

Rate The Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/rtth

Become a Sponsor: https://www.runtothehard.com/sponsors

Share The Episode...Remember, "Running to the hard is better, when we run together".

CHAPTERS

0:00 Intro

1:40 New grandbaby!

5:51 A whole new level of grief

16:18 Grieving your husband when your fiancé is weighed down by grief

28:58 Temptations while navigating such immense grief and intensity

37:50 Everything burns down

43:14 Doing vs resting in the waiting

48:37 The children are our joy

52:15 Where is the rest and recovery?

1:00:50 How to make sure rest doesn't become destructive

1:02:38 What grieving kids need

1:12:58 The future vision

1:16:07 Crystal's vision

MENTIONED

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpWP4QmfDDE

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYxLFaLySjs

Welcome to part 2 of this unbelievable saga.

The life of Curtis Christopher, Michal's kids, and Crystal and her kids continues to plunge further into the chaos of unexpected death, compounding grief, triggers, postponed marriage, court dates, and just life with so many moving parts.

Today they dive into the difficulty of deciding to postpone a wedding, just days after their court date, blending such a unique family, sacrificial love, obedience to the Lord, and inter-family dynamics.

This is a story that would be hard to make up, because it sounds so unbelievable.

But by God's grace, Curtis and Crystal continue along the path to build a safe, stable, loving home for these kids while they continue to wait on God's timing and trust Jesus to bring everything to fruition, in His time.

---

DONATE TO THE MICHAL FOUNDATION: https://www.runtothehard.com/give

Rate The Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/rtth

Become a Sponsor: https://www.runtothehard.com/sponsors

Share The Episode...Remember, "Running to the hard is better, when we run together".

CHAPTERS

0:00 Intro

0:42 Sudden death, grief triggers, and about to get married

8:36 When grief shuts you down emotionally

19:41 The rollercoaster of postponing our wedding

32:32 Blending families in a very unique situation

37:09 Sacrificial love

43:03 Another layer of grief impacting relationships

50:30 Obedience and the wilderness

57:42 The enemy is trying to split us up

If you've heard our story and think things have been crazy lately, you haven't heard anything yet.

In this episode we walk you through the absolute whirlwind of grief and tragedy we've been walking through the last couple of months, to make things all the more complicated after the last couple of years of grief.

From sudden death, to planning a funeral, to postponing our wedding, to lawyers and court dates, to deathversaries making it all the worse.

Not much of this story makes sense from our limited human perspective, but God is faithful and we hope sharing this both encourages and strengthens your own walk.

---

DONATE TO THE MICHAL FOUNDATION: https://www.runtothehard.com/give

Rate The Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/rtth

Become a Sponsor: https://www.runtothehard.com/sponsors

Share The Episode...Remember, "Running to the hard is better, when we run together".

CHAPTERS

0:00 Intro

0:37 The insanity of the last couple of months with grief upon grief

6:58 What's going to happen to the kids?

9:46 Sudden death...AND a death anniversary...at the same time

26:04 The kids' relationship with their passed dad

35:54 The funeral

42:20 Chaos of normal life with so much grief

48:44 Kids going back to school

55:50 A 10 year old did WHAT?

1:00:20 How could you do this without Jesus?

From the grief of being unable to have children, to the joys of adopting and building a picture-perfect life together...

Straight into the depths of losing her husband to brain cancer...

JoBeth Evan's story is a roller coaster, and she tells it - and lives it - with so much grace and peace.

Today's episode is extra impactful because not only does JoBeth have lived experience of deep grief, BUT, she's turned that experience into a way to serve others as a certified grief recovery specialist.

She helps others navigate deep grief in a way that keeps them moving forward and honoring the memory of those who are being grieved. Seeing things from the experiential AND the professional side of things allows JoBeth to offer an incredible testimony to the goodness of God, and how to walk through grief well.

---

DONATE TO THE MICHAL FOUNDATION: https://www.runtothehard.com/give

Rate The Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/rtth

Become a Sponsor: https://www.runtothehard.com/sponsors

Share The Episode...Remember, "Running to the hard is better, when we run together".

CHAPTERS

0:00 Intro

0:46 God's Plans

9:28 Adoption

14:30 Things Change Drastically

21:25 Brain Cancer

23:45 The Practical Reality of Losing Your Spouse

28:15 How Much To Share

34:42 "Selfish" Grieving?

39:57 Do NOT Say This To Grieving People

41:56 Kids Grieving

49:14 Response To Dying

58:07 Grief Recovery Coaching

1:03:38 Run To The Hard - Buffalo Style

MENTIONED

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jobeth.polley/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jobethevans/

NWA Grief Specialists: https://nwagriefspecialists.com/

You will NOT believe the compounded grief that's just been added to our story.

This episode was recorded right before another tragedy, so when we sat down to talk about the overwhelm of 2.5 years of grieving, trying to get your life back on track, guiding and raising 9 children from multiple families, and being weighed down by it all while learning to trust God in the process...we couldn't imagine it could get more complicated.

Listen in and be encouraged, because despite everything that's happening, we know God is good, and He is redeeming everything.

---

DONATE TO THE MICHAL FOUNDATION: https://www.runtothehard.com/give

Rate The Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/rtth

Become a Sponsor: https://www.runtothehard.com/sponsors

Share The Episode...Remember, "Running to the hard is better, when we run together".

CHAPTERS

0:00 Intro

5:28 Overwhelm: 2.5 years of grief

11:12 Pressure

16:14 Does grief stunt growth?

22:01 How to lead without letting guilt make the decisions

26:21 Blending two grieving families

34:26 Raising boys

41:40 The 4 types of grievers

47:20 Encouragement from Megan, who lost both parents at 14

58:42 How God uses His people to accomplish His purposes

MENTIONED

Finding Motivation After Grief: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzUyEpQEmBg

2 Years After Grief: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84kfHysGE9k

Crystal Episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8JVCqZsW4Y

Lonnie Potts episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56FDX1Pi6HI&t=1s

Lonnie Potts is my favorite preacher. He played an instrumental role in my life as a young father, husband, and professional.

I'm thrilled to have him on the podcast today, to honor him, number one, but also to give you hope that when all seems lost...God gives a way forward.

Lonnie shares what it's like to experience crushing failure as a Christian, and to turn to God for redemption and healing.

Within a very short time, Lonnie lost both parents, his marriage, and the ministry he'd worked so hard to build.

But God is good, and failure does NOT define you.

---

DONATE TO THE MICHAL FOUNDATION: https://www.runtothehard.com/give

Rate The Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/rtth

Become a Sponsor: https://www.runtothehard.com/sponsors

Share The Episode...Remember, "Running to the hard is better, when we run together".

CHAPTERS

0:00 Intro

4:04 The Joy (and Challenges) of Church Growth

17:17 Tell Stones vs Tomb Stones

23:33 Starting a Church School

28:14 Lonnie Quotes

32:49 Divorce, Losing Both Parents Within Weeks of Each Other

47:28 Inspiring Stories of Failure and Faith in The Bible