Last week was the first part of a discussion with my friend Joy Ware Miller. If you didn’t hear it, you may want to listen to that one first and then come back. It is called From Surviving to Thriving and has a lot of encouragement.
Both weeks are from an interview back in 2017 from an online event, but what Joy shared is so good, I felt like it needed to get back out there for more pareavors to hear.
In the second half, some of what we talk about is:
- How to lean into the pain and why that is important.
- Joy’s experience of feeling God’s presence when Christopher died and about the parents who don’t have that happen.
- The tormenting fear of parents who think their child might not be in heaven.
The interview closes with Joy praying over all of us and then by my request, shares a wonderful poem from her book There’s a Party in the Pit and You’re Invited.
Joy Ware Miller has a powerful message of hope. 
Joy is a speaker, author, radio host on Hope 100.7 and President of iJoy Inspirations. In 2007, Joy founded Parents On Call, a first “response team” of parents who have endured the loss of a child. Their son Christopher, at age thirteen, in 2005, died suddenly while playing basketball at the local YMCA. Unfortunately, parents who have lost children understand the depth of heartache and sorrow this kind of loss brings. Parents On Call is designed to be uplifting and supportive. Joy is also the founder of Helping Hurting Hearts Heal and Retreats On The Go. When she is not speaking or writing, Joy enjoys life with her husband Charles and daughters Lauren and Olivia.
(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 Joy Ware Miller or order her book.
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To find out more about the Virtual event this was recorded for, including the other speakers and how to get your own copy, click here.
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(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:
Adan Razo was born on May 13 and is forever 18.
Colby Brown was born on May 17 and is forever 19.
Christopher Rueben was born on May 19 and is forever 16.
Ryan Drew was born on May 19 and is forever 31.
Isaiah Santell was born on May 22 and is forever 16.
Kyle Terry was born on May 24 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!
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.
different than what God means when He uses the word hope. Have you ever thought about how crazy it would be that when God talks about hope in the Bible, He is talking about wishful thinking? Let’s read some Scriptures that way.
A great example is a little girl who hopes she will get married someday. That is the wishful thinking kind of hope. But one day a young man comes into her life, they fall deeply in love, and he gets down on one knee with a question and a ring. Her getting married is no longer wishful thinking. It is something she actually starts planning for with anticipation, knowing it is coming. There is a confident expectation that she is going to get married.
surrounds us, Lord, for our hope (confident expectation) is in you alone. (NLT)
Are you in God’s kingdom? Then you are in a place where there is full resurrection power. You can learn to live again. Allow God to plant His seed of hope right in the middle of your pain, and ask Him what you can do to nourish it, as you watch it grow into life.
