The new year is now upon us. For most people, anything that is new evokes a measure of excitement with possibilities, especially a new year.

But for those who have had to face the darkness of the death of their child, “new” can bring almost a panicked feeling, as if we are leaving our child behind. This especially applies to the new year for those who lost their child within the past year.

Podcast host, Laura Diehl, shares three things that going into a new year usually brings to bereaved parents, based on her own experience after the death of her daughter, Becca.

1. We are reminded of our intense need for others to talk about our child
2. We find ourselves with a new resolve to not leave our child behind and to find ways to honor their life
3. We renew our desperate desire for feeling less pain and sadness in our grief

And to help you with that, Laura offers some suggestions to move you in that direction.

A new year can bring new hope, new light, new life and new possibilities. What is discussed in this podcast episode can help with something we cannot control – crossing over into a new year.

Links referred to in this podcast episode:

Blog: Three Ways to Face Bittersweet Events as a Bereaved Parent

Order a signed copy of When Tragedy Strikes: Rebuilding Your Life With Hope and Healing after the Death of Your Child from GPS Hope for a discount price of only $14 plus get a FREE copy of My Grief Journey: A Coloring Book and Journal for Bereaved Parents. Take me to the GPS Hope store.  (Put the book When Tragedy Strikes in your cart, and use the promo code PODCAST37.)

Sponsor a podcast episode in memory of you child.

Birthdays:

There are no birthdays to share this week.

If you would like your child mentioned on the podcast the week of his or her birthday, click here to fill out the short form with the needed information.

The special song written for our children’s birthdays I Remember Well can be heard here.

Remember to Hold On Pain Eases; there is HOPE!

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and minister at your event, 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 judgement in where you are in this journey, including if you are struggling in your relationship with God or your faith has been completely shattered.

We all need a deeper revelation of God’s love for us, but especially those who are questioning God’s love after the death of their child.

There are so many things that show God’s love. We just need to have our eyes and hearts open to see and receive them. In this episode, Laura does her best to point the listeners in the right direction to have this happen.

Links referred to in this podcast episode:

Book: He Loves Me by Wayne Jacobson

Give a gift to GPS Hope to help continue providing resources and support to grieving parents

Sponsor an In Loving Memory heart on the Hope Mobile for your son or daughter

Birthdays:

Ryan Durkin was born on December 27 and is forever 19.

Tevin Tyon was born on December 28 and is forever 21.

Melanie Bach was born on December 30 and is forever 46.

If you would like your child mentioned on the podcast the week of his or her birthday, click here to fill out the short form with the needed information.

The special song written for our children’s birthdays I Remember Well can be heard here.

Remember to Hold On Pain Eases; there is HOPE!

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and minister at your event, 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 judgement in where you are in this journey, including if you are struggling in your relationship with God or your faith has been completely shattered.

Joy is something that can elude us for a long time after the death of our child. Not just that undercurrent that is a peaceful, confident hope, but joy from good and wonderful things that are going on around us.

Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit who is always at work in us. But what about when we aren’t seeing or feeling the Holy Spirit at work in us, much less seeing any fruit of joy, either now or in the future?

In this episode, Laura gets raw and real about her own struggle with this issue of joy and issues a challenge for her and the listeners to take together.

Links referred to in this podcast episode:

Hope for the Future – information on both the book and the advent Sundays live on Facebook

GPS Hope Facebook page (to join for live advent time the four Sundays before Christmas)

Join the Hope for Hundreds: Provide support and resources for hundreds of other pareavors for $100/ monthly gift to GPS Hope.

Choose a podcast episode and sponsor it in honor of your child (a one-time $200 gift to GPS Hope).

Sponsor an In Loving Memory heart for your child on the Hope Mobile (a $100 one-time sponsorship).

 Birthdays:

Austin Smith was born on December 18 and is forever 30.

Carissa Perkins was born on December 21 and is forever 29.

Dylan Bieber was born on December 21 and is forever 16.

If you would like your child mentioned on the podcast the week of his or her birthday, click here to fill out the short form with the needed information.

The special song written for our children’s birthdays I Remember Well can be heard here.

And please remember to Hold On Pain Eases; there is HOPE!

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and speak or sing at your event, 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 judgement in where you are in this journey, including if you are struggling in your relationship with God or your faith has been completely shattered.

Advent is a time of waiting. Many people are waiting for Christmas with joyful anticipation, mixed with frazzled busyness. But for many of us who have faced the death of our child, it is a time of waiting for the season to just… be…over.

God knew from the very beginning of time that we would struggle with feeling so hopeless in our grief, and He did something about it. He sent His own Son to become one of us here on earth, knowing the purpose of His birth was to die for all of us; not just so we could have an abundant life after this earth, but so that we could also experience things like peace, while here on this earth facing the often brutal attacks of the enemy.

Jesus isn’t just our Savior, He isn’t just our King, He is also our shepherd, to guide us into a place of peace; a peace that doesn’t make any sense after the death of our child. But their death isn’t the end, it is not the final word.

When the angels announced the earthly entrance of Jesus as a little baby, they proclaimed, “Peace on earth!” Peace came as a gift in a manger. Peace is God’s plan for us and it is being extended to each one of us. He did His part. Our part is to let go of what we are carrying that keeps us from accepting His gift of peace.

If you need peace this holiday season, Laura is here to assure you that you can have it, even in the midst of the pain of your deep grief.

 Birthdays:

Sarah Jordan was born on December 11 and is forever 42.

Tanner Allen-Harris was born on December 13 and is forever 20.

Cameron Paddock was born on December 14 and is forever 22.

If you would like your child mentioned on the podcast the week of his or her birthday, click here to fill out the short form with the needed information.

The special song written for our children’s birthdays I Remember Well can be heard here.

Links referred to in this podcast episode:

Hope for the Future – information on both the book and the advent Sundays live on Facebook

Choose a podcast episode and sponsor it in honor of your child (a one-time $200 gift to GPS Hope).

And please remember to Hold On Pain Eases; there is HOPE!

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and speak or sing at your event, 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 judgement in where you are in this journey, including if you are struggling in your relationship with God or your faith has been completely shattered.

I want to partner with GPS Hope financially to help give support to grieving parents.