Laura Diehl, Author at GPS Hope Page

April 3, 2022 by Laura Diehl Leave a Comment

One Day (by Vickie Hickox)

One day I’ll wake up in the morning
And I will not miss your presence.
One day I’ll wake up in the morning
And I will not cry for you anymore.

One day I’ll wake up in the morning
And I will not miss your smile,
The sound of your voice
And your laughter.

One day I’ll wake up in the morning
And will not ask “Why?” anymore.
One day I’ll wake up in the morning
And will not have the longing to
Hug you and tell you I love you.

Because one day when I wake up
In the morning I will see your
Beautiful face again.
I will hear your voice,
I will hear your laughter
And see your smile again.

I will put my arms around you
And never let you go again.
I will tell you I love you
And how much I have missed you.

But until that day, I will live
This life without you.
I will find ways to honor your life and
Keep your memory alive.
I will cherish the memories of you
And hold them in my heart.

Until one day when I will wake up
To your beautiful face and we
Will spend eternity together
And my broken heart
Will once again be whole.

One day…

Vickie Hickox lost her son, Dominic, from this earth on June 22, 2019 from brain cancer, which sent her on a journey to rediscover who God is in the midst of such a horrible tragedy. She lives in Georgia, where she has been a correctional officer in a county jail for ten years. Whenever she can get away from her job, she enjoys spending time with her other children and grandchildren in Florida, and time on a beach somewhere.

We all need hope, or we cannot go on without our child here with us. If you would like to be sent a PDF of 36 scriptures of hope, to help in this area, just fill out the form below to let us know where to send it. (You will also be placed on our Weekly Word of Hope email list, which you can unsubscribe from at any time.)

Expressions of Hope is provided by Grieving Parents Sharing Hope (GPS Hope). The founders, Dave and Laura Diehl, travel full time in their Hope Mobile (a 38-foot motor home) to be more easily available for speaking and ministry requests, and bringing intimate weekend retreats to bereaved parents. Laura is also a singer/songwriter and the author of multiple award-winning books.

If you would like more information about bringing Dave and Laura to you for an event, please send an email to office@gpshope.org.

If you are interested in bringing GPS Hope to your area for a weekend retreat click here.

Check out the Grieving Parents Sharing Hope weekly podcast
Subscribe to Laura’s YouTube channel.
If you are a bereaved parent, we encourage you to connect with us on our private Facebook page or our public Facebook page.
If you are not a bereaved parent but want to support those who are, or want to follow us as we give hope to these precious parents, please connect with us at Friends of GPS Hope on Facebook.

March 29, 2022 by Laura Diehl Leave a Comment

152: Putting Words to Our Unwanted Journey of Child Loss

There are times when Laura is sent something written by a pareavor that seems to capture the essence of who we are and how we feel after the death of our child, as well as what it is like to travel on this unwanted journey.

On this episode, Laura reads three of these.

This Mom’s Grief by Val Breslau
It’s Been Two Years by Fran Rhodes
One Day by Vickie Hickox

Laura also reads something she wrote back in 2017 called Forever.

Because these hit the heart of our journey, listeners may find themselves feeling a bit more emotionally tender than most episodes, but they are worth hearing and absorbing.

Links Mentioned in this episode:

This Mom’s Grief by Val Breslau

It’s Been Two Years by Fran Rhodes

One Day by Vickie Hickox

Find out more about Laura’s Books

Go directly to the GPS Hope store.

Send something you have written to Laura: laura@gpshope.org

Birthdays:

Dakota Crandall was born on March 27 and is forever 25.

Tommy Simmons was born on March 29 and is forever 59.

Miles DiGiannantonio was born on March 30 and is forever 20 months.

Jonda Steinkamp was born on April 2 and is forever 5 months.

Fill out the short form with the needed information to have your child’s birthday shared with our listeners.

The special song “I Remember Well“, which was written by Laura for our children’s birthdays, can be heard on your favorite music app. To hear samples of Laura’s other songs, click here.

Remember to Hold On Pain Eases; there is HOPE!

www.gpshope.org

Would you like to have Laura come and speak to your group? Contact us at office@gpshope.org.

Grieving Parents Sharing Hope (GPS Hope) is here to walk with parents through the darkness of child-loss, guiding them to a place of hope, light and purpose.

It is a safe place for anyone who has lost a child from this earth. There is no shame or judgment in where you are in this journey, including if you are struggling in your relationship with God or your faith has been completely shattered.

March 22, 2022 by Laura Diehl Leave a Comment

151: How to Help Us After Child Loss

Those of us who have lost a child will talk among ourselves about how hurtful it is that our family and friends seem to abandon us after the first few weeks or months. Not only that, but many of these people also seem to expect us to snap out of our grief after a certain amount of time.

We all know what helps and what hurts, but do those around us know? How could they, if they have never experienced the suffocating darkness of the death of their own child.

In this episode, Laura pulls back the curtain and shares some of these things with anyone who wants to know.

If you are a bereaved parent, this episode will help you know that you are not alone in the thoughts and feelings you have in this area. It also gives you something to share with those around you who want or need a better understanding of what you are going through as a bereaved parent.

NOTE: Laura will be on the Wisdom app this Thursday, March 24 at 7:30PM EASTERN if you would like to join her and get in on a discussion on this topic. (Right now the Wisdom app is only available for iPhones.)

Links Mentioned in this episode:

PDF: Eight Things Not to Say to a Bereaved Parent

Blog: The Best Bible Verses to Help a Grieving Parent

Find out more about Laura’s Books

Check out the GPS Hope website for the mentioned various resources: gpshope.org

Birthdays:

Kyle Moroney was born on March 20 and is forever 23.

Aaron Wright was born on March 20 and is forever 32.

Joshua Aaron Smith was born on March 21 and is forever 21.

Kaleb Wickersham was born on March 23 and is forever 25.

Jacquelyn Landry was born on March 24 and is forever 18.

Waylyn McRae was born on March 25 and is forever 17.

Michael Young was born on March 26 and is forever 22.

Jacob Vidaurri was born on March 26 and is forever 20.

Fill out the short form with the needed information to have your child’s birthday shared with our listeners.

Remember to Hold On Pain Eases; there is HOPE!

www.gpshope.org

Would you like to have Laura come and speak to your group? Contact us at office@gpshope.org.

Grieving Parents Sharing Hope (GPS Hope) is here to walk with parents through the darkness of child-loss, guiding them to a place of hope, light and purpose.

March 15, 2022 by Laura Diehl Leave a Comment

150: Why Didn’t I Do More to Keep My Child From Dying? (With Sara Nelson)

After our child dies, we all seem to struggle with the guilt of why we didn’t do more, or do something differently, that would have prevented their death.

How do we get past that? Does that feeling ever go away? In this episode, Laura brings on a guest, Sara Nelson, to discuss this.

Sara Faith Nelson taught elementary and middle school grades for 15 years. Now she enjoys pursuing her love of writing. The primary focus of her writing has always leaned toward themes of hope, faith, and trust in the goodness of God. Since the death of her daughter and only child, she writes about her grief journey and surviving a devastating loss. She continues to write about trusting in God’s goodness and grace while grappling with the hard questions.

Sara and her husband, Dennis, live in Arizona.

(Note: The views and opinions of our guests outside of this podcast may not be in agreement with GPS Hope.)

Links Mentioned in this episode:

Connect with Sara Nelson: writingsmiles2@gmail.com

Sara’s book on Amazon: Footsteps of Hope

GPS Hope public Facebook page.

GPS Hope private Facebook page.

Join almost 2,000 other pareavors who are receiving a Weekly Word of Hope from Laura.

Listen to the recent podcast episode about following the breadcrumbs: Why Can’t I Hear from God?

Birthdays:

Amy Rebecca Wetmore was born on March 13 and is forever 30.

Andrew Woulard was born on March 15 and is forever 23.

Jeffrey Macedo was born on March 15 and is forever 18.

Rohit Matthew was born on March 16 and is forever 23.

Adam Block was born on March 16 and is forever 34.

Taraoluwa Chizoba was born on March 17 and is forever 7.

Samuel Hines was born on March 19 and is forever 7.

Fill out the short form with the needed information to have your child’s birthday shared with our listeners.

Remember to Hold On Pain Eases; there is HOPE!

www.gpshope.org

Would you like to have Laura come and speak to your group? Contact us at office@gpshope.org.

Grieving Parents Sharing Hope (GPS Hope) is here to walk with parents through the darkness of child-loss, guiding them to a place of hope, light and purpose.

March 8, 2022 by Laura Diehl Leave a Comment

149: I Struggle with Going to Church after Child Loss

Laura hears from many pareavors how they struggle with going to church after the death of their child. In today’s episode, she talks about some of the reasons this happens, along with some of her own struggles in this area.

She also spends time talking about the difference between going to church as a Sunday morning institution and being in fellowship as the church outside the four walls of a building. This is a needed distinction for anyone struggling with “going to church”, but especially those of us who realize what is happening inside a building every week no longer meets the needs of our deeply wounded soul and spirit.

Laura makes it very clear that she is not against congregational services and acknowledges there are some pareavors who are getting strength and encouragement from their attendance at these weekly meetings. If you are being helped in your place of grief by the place of worship you attend, that is wonderful! Unfortunately, that is not the norm in our world of child loss.

Links Mentioned in this episode:

GPS Hope & Healing Retreats

Check out Wayne Jacobson’s website and his books.

Birthdays:

Ava Jenkins was born on March 6 and is forever 2.

Jonathan Van Verdegem was born on March 6 and is forever 19.

Steven Kowalewski was born on March 11 and is forever 28.

Fill out the short form with the needed information to have your child’s birthday shared with our listeners.

Remember to Hold On Pain Eases; there is HOPE!

www.gpshope.org

Would you like to have Laura come and speak to your group? Contact us at office@gpshope.org.

Grieving Parents Sharing Hope (GPS Hope) is here to walk with parents through the darkness of child-loss, guiding them to a place of hope, light and purpose.