Randy Alcorn wrote the book 50 Days of Heaven. His writings have offered peace and comfort to millions around the world at times of loss. Recently, Randy lost his sweet wife Nanci to heaven. I ran across a piece he wrote regarding how the loss impacted his life and I wanted to share it with you.

Widowed and weekends can provide challenges. We often feel so alone and have a hard time finding direction... especially on weekends. However, I had an unusually good weekend recently, thanks to opening my mind and heart up to possibilities.

I recently became the subject for a short film by a University of Southern California film student who wanted to share what life being widowed looks like. I think this young man did a great job capturing how painful this walk can be.

When it comes to grief and loss the situation is different for every individual. However, some of your friends and family members may think they know what's best for you. However, when it comes to advice, I always tell someone unless I ask, please keep your opinions to yourself.

Is the economy improving in your world? According to the current administration, it is. However, in my world, the widowed world, I'm not seeing it.

When we have lost a loved one we often hang on to things that bring us joy. However, sometimes we have things around that while they may have pleasant memories attached they can also lead to feelings of sadness. In my case, some simple beach chairs hanging in our garage provided both feelings and finally I decided it was time to let them go. It was hard, but maybe you have something like those beach chairs at your home that may need to go as well.

It was Father's Day and the tempation to have a pity party was pretty strong. However, I decided not to give in to the temptation and decided to go to Church. Church without Pam has proved to be challenging but recently I've started attending a Church that actually feels pretty good. However, making friends at this stage in life is proving to be a challenge. Today though was not one of those days as I met the most lovely person who comes from halfway around the world. I hope you enjoy the story.

Often times when we are going thru grief we talk about going thru seasons. For me, I often feel like my life is lost in the desert. However, even in the desert there are signs of life.

Many times on our grief journey we may simply want to give up. Our mind may drift into some dark areas like suicide or simply withdrawing from friends and family. We are tempted to become isolated. However, all these thoughts don't mean your crazy. You're just normal. However, if you find yourself trapped in these thougths please contact a profesional for further help and support.