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204: What Season of Grief are You In?

This is the time of year we start heading into spring… at least that is what the calendar tells us. It might take a while for the weather to get the message though.

God can use nature to teach us many things about life, as well as death and grief. Laura talks about this in today’s episode, giving some comparisons with things in nature and the changing of the seasons to our grief, after the death of our child.

Links Mentioned in this episode:

Click here to know more about Laura’s book Reflections of Hope coming out in April.

 

(GPS Hope is a 501c3 nonprofit and runs on the financial support of those who believe in passing along the hope they have received to others.)

 

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.

 

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 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.

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203: Our Grief is Like…

For those of us who have lost a child from this earth, there is no way we can put words to the pain and suffocating darkness we find ourselves hurled into. As Laura has been known to say, “I didn’t even know that kind of darkness existed!”

How do you even try to explain to someone who has never faced child loss what our grief is like, not just the first few months, but the first few years?

In today’s episode, Laura shares several illustrations or comparisons that not only help us describe what our grief is like to those around us, but helps other pareavors realize they are not alone in these crazy and dark emotions that seem to hang on for so long.

Links Mentioned in this episode:

Click here to know more about Laura’s book Reflections of Hope coming out in April.

Preorder the children’s book Laura is writing with her granddaughter and help them get it funded here.

Savanah’s website

Savanah’s Facebook page

Watch the video with Alainah

Join the discussion! Leave a question or comment on today’s talk here.

 

(GPS Hope is a 501c3 nonprofit and runs on the financial support of those who believe in passing along the hope they have received to others.)

 

Birthdays:

Daniel Wilson was born on March 21 and is forever 30.

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 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.

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Sexual Intimacy After Child Loss

This is a topic that no one seems to talk about after the trauma of the death of one’s child, and yet for those of us who are married, it is another area that is greatly affected. How do I know? Because I have received several emails over the past few years asking me what I have to offer for help in this area.

Sadly, I have not had anything, until now. I recently had guest, Linda Dillow, back on the Grieving Parents Sharing Hope podcast.  This may sound strange, but Linda is highly qualified on the topic of God’s view of sexual intimacy. After studying it out for herself, God led her to write a book, which led to more books and doing over eighty conferences on this topic.

A couple of years ago, her daughter passed away, which now also (unfortunately) qualifies her to talk about this topic within the deep grief of losing a child. Knowing this, I asked her to come on and talk to us about sexual intimacy after child loss.

Linda shared there are six reasons why God gives us the gift of sexual intimacy.

  1. To create life
  2. A defense against temptation
  3. Intimate (yada) oneness
  4. For knowledge (knowing and loving each other in our vulnerability)
  5. For pleasure (Yes, God gave us body parts for the purpose of pleasure.)

The sixth one is for the purpose of comfort. We see this specifically when David and Bathsheba lost their infant son. The Bible tells us that David went in to comfort Bathsheba his wife. He lay down with her and they had sexual relations (2 Samuel 12:24).

Have you heard of En Gedi? It is an oasis in the scorching desert over in Israel. It is a place surrounded by beautiful palm trees, with caves and fresh springs that turn into waterfalls landing in refreshing pools of water. David hid there when King Saul was trying to hunt him down to kill him so he couldn’t become the new king (1 Samuel 23 and 24).

It is also mentioned in the Song of Solomon, which is an intimate peek into the lives of a pair of married lovers. In chapter one, verse fourteen, the woman is speaking about her husband, saying, “My beloved is like a cluster of henna flowers in the desert gardens of En Gedi.”

Most couples struggle greatly with their sex life after the death of their child, even to the point of wanting nothing to do with sex for multiple reasons (especially us moms), but that is because we fail to realize or understand God’s purposes for this special act of intimacy.

Isn’t it amazing to know that one reason God gave us the gift of sexual intimacy is so we can comfort each other? It is like having our own personal En Gedi in our scorching and dry wilderness of grief!

This is just a very sparse writing, taken from my talk with Linda on this subject. There is so much more to this topic that it is split into two very full podcast episodes. If you would like to hear our full discussion, or find out more about Linda Dollow, click the links below.

Episode 201: God’s Gift of Sexual Intimacy

Episode 202: Sexual Intimacy after Child Loss

If you would like to know about a literal get-away for you and your spouse, join us for one of our GPS Hope & Healing retreats (click here for info), or join us on a cruise (find out more here).

 

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.

 

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202: Sexual Intimacy after Child Loss (with Linda Dillow)

Today’s episode is a continuation of last week’s discussion with Linda Dillow. If you have not heard episode 201 yet, please do not listen to this one until you go back. It lays the foundation for what will be shared today, which is needed for the topic of sexual intimacy and grief to make much more sense. (You may even be frustrated by what you hear in this episode if you have not heard the previous one.)

One thing you will hear from Linda today is how God gave us the gift of sexual intimacy as a form of comfort for each other, and she shares a situation recorded in the Bible where we see that.

Obviously, today’s (and last week’s) content is not for everyone, but it is extremely needed as no one else is talking about how grief affects our sexual intimacy within our marriage. Thankfully, Linda is someone who is willing to do so.

Linda is the author of several bestselling books, including Calm My Anxious Heart, Satisfy My Thirsty Soul, What’s it Like to be Married to Me? And the co-author of Intimate Issues, Passion Pursuit, Surprised by the Healer and others.

Linda and her husband, Jody ministered in the former East European Communist countries and in Asia for eighteen years training the leadership of the church. They have five grown children (one in heaven) and ten amazing grandchildren. Linda loves to encourage women to hope in God and trust in His faithfulness!

(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:

AuthenticIntimacy.com

Listen here to the previous episode 201:  God’s Gift of Sexual Intimacy (with Linda Dillow).

Check out Linda’s books (Amazon Links):

 

Find out more about the GPS Hope & Healing retreats or register to attend.

Join Laura and Dave on The Grief Cruise in October. Click here for information.

Join the discussion! Leave a question or comment on today’s talk here.

 

Click here to become a monthly partner, giving hope to other parents, or to give a special gift to keep this podcast going, along with providing  other needed resources to bereaved parents.

(GPS Hope is a 501c3 nonprofit and runs on the financial support of those who believe in passing along the hope they have received to others.)

 

Birthdays:

Quintin T. Flowers was born on March 12 and is forever 54.

Matthew Branca was born on March 15 and is forever 23.

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.

 

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 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.

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201: God’s Gift of Sexual Intimacy (with Linda Dillow)

Today you are going to hear the start of a conversation with a returning guest, Linda Dillow on a topic that is highly unusual and hard to find, which is sexual intimacy and grief.

This may sound strange, but Linda is highly qualified on the topic of God’s view of sexual intimacy. After studying it out for herself, God led her to write a book, which led to more books and doing over 80 conferences on this topic.

A couple of years ago, her daughter passed away, which now also (unfortunately) qualifies her to talk about this topic within the deep grief of losing a child.

Before we get to the topic of intimacy and grief, the foundation needs to be laid for God’s view of sex, as His gift to us, and why it is important to know and grasp that revelation, which is what you will hear today.

 

Linda is the author of several bestselling books, including Calm My Anxious Heart, Satisfy My Thirsty Soul, What’s it Like to be Married to Me? And the co-author of Intimate Issues, Passion Pursuit, Surprised by the Healer and others.

Linda and her husband, Jody ministered in the former East European Communist countries and in Asia for eighteen years training the leadership of the church. They have five grown children (one in heaven) and ten amazing grandchildren. Linda loves to encourage women to hope in God and trust in His faithfulness!

(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:

AuthenticIntimacy.com

Check out Linda’s books (Amazon Links):

Previous episodes with Linda:

195: Trusting God When It Doesn’t Make Sense

196: A Declaration of Hope

Find out more about the GPS Hope & Healing retreats or register to attend.

Join Laura and Dave on The Grief Cruise in October. Click here for information.

Join the discussion! Leave a question or comment on today’s talk here.

 

Click here to become a monthly partner, giving hope to other parents, or to give a special gift to keep this podcast going, along with providing  other needed resources to bereaved parents.

(GPS Hope is a 501c3 nonprofit and runs on the financial support of those who believe in passing along the hope they have received to others.)

 

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.

 

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 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.

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