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Trigger Warning: Child Loss, Grief, Trauma

This week on Sacred & Strange, Jay sits down with his close friend, Rip Wahlberg, for an honest, vulnerable, and deeply sacred conversation about walking through unimaginable grief. This episode includes a trigger warning: we discuss the death of Rip and Annemarie’s young son, Aiden, who tragically drowned in 2008. If this topic is tender or activating for you, please listen with care or wait until you feel ready.

Rip opens his heart to share the story no parent ever wants to tell—how their son’s accident unfolded, the immediate shock that shattered their world, and the long, painful journey that followed. But this isn’t just a story about loss. It’s a story about grief, healing, emotional honesty, spiritual formation, community, and the faithfulness of God in the places we least expect it.

Throughout the conversation, Jay and Rip explore:

• The moment life changed forever and what those first hours and days were really like
• How Rip and Annemarie processed grief differently, and why both paths were valid
• Why avoiding pain traps us—and walking into pain with God sets us free
• How vulnerability, therapy, community, and Scripture shaped their healing
• The danger of spiritual bypassing, clichés, and “speaking truth to pain”
• Identity, guilt, shame, and idolatry—and how false beliefs can become prisons
• Why God can handle your anger, your questions, your honesty, and your breaking
• How their children processed the loss, even those too young to remember
• What redemption and restoration really look like 15+ years later
• Why testimony matters, and how sharing their scars now brings hope to others

Despite the heaviness of the story, this episode radiates hope. Rip and his family didn’t bypass the valley—they walked through it. And what emerges on the other side is a tender, hard-won testimony of a God who meets us in grief, sits with us in sorrow, and leads us—slowly—into healing.

If you’re carrying pain, trauma, or loss, this episode may be difficult, but it may also be deeply validating. You’re not alone. Your grief matters. And there is a way forward.

00:00 Introduction and Trigger Warning

01:47 Welcoming Rip Wahlberg

02:51 Rip's Tragic Story Begins

04:26 The Drowning Incident

05:50 Immediate Aftermath and Community Support

19:39 Therapy and Coping Mechanisms

25:31 Reflections on Grief and Healing

34:11 Theological Insights on Pain and Comfort

43:33 Cultural and Generational Perspectives on Grief

46:32 Introduction to Grief and Faith

48:03 Exploring the Retribution Principle

52:16 The Story of Job and Human Suffering

01:02:56 Idolatry and Inner Healing

01:11:31 Family Testimonies and Healing

01:25:27 Concluding Thoughts and Reflections

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