Season Topic: Facing Our Fears After the Death of Our Child
Losing another child is one of podcast host, Laura Diehl’s, biggest fears that she has to fight.
It is also one of the most common fears bereaved parents have, because once we know it can happen to us, we know it can happen again.
Laura tackles this big issue with friend and bereaved parent of over 30 years, Lynn Breeden. Discussing how it is okay and even normal to have this fear, they talk about some of their personal experiences on this subject, how it has affected their other children, and share what they have done to help combat this fear as it continues to rear its head in their lives.
Lynn Breeden’s life was forever changed on October of 1987, 
when her son Joel Brian died of cancer at the age of five. After coming to terms with this loss, her greatest desire was to help other moms through their own loss, so they do not have to grieve alone. Lynn founded Mourning to Dancing, which is a non-denominational ministry, with the sole mission to offer comfort, hope, and encouragement to mothers who have suffered the loss of a child. She also currently serves as the Pastor for Bremen United Methodist Church in Bremen, Indiana.
Birthdays
This week we don’t have any birthdays to share with our listeners.
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. (It is the song that plays in the background of the birthday segment.)
Links referred to in this podcast episode:
To receive a copy of the pages on fear from the My Grief Journey: A Coloring Book and Journal for Bereaved Parents, click here.
Click here to take a look at the book My Grief Journey (along with a link to order it in our store). You can also check out My Grief Journey for Kids.
To contact Pastor Lynn Breeden, click here.
Find Mourning to Dancing on Facebook.
And please remember to Hold On Pain Eases; there is HOPE.
I want to partner with GPS Hope financially to help give support to grieving parents.
You are safe here. No masks needed…
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.
To have Laura come and speak or sing at your event, contact us at office@gpshope.org.
After the loss of Dominic my daughter called me crying and saying she wished it had been her that died and not Dominic. I asked her why and she said knew how much Dominic was missed and loved by everyone including herself. She felt horrible for Meagan (Dominic’s fiancé) because they would not get to marry now and have a family and she knew how much they loved each other. I told her she would be missed as much as Dominic is and that she has 3 little boys who need her. But what do you say to your 6 year old grandchild that saw his uncle Dominic die? He saw the funeral home come pick up his uncle Dominic’s body even though his mom tried to prevent it. He cried his little heart out. A couple days later he came to me and said, “Grandma, I don’t want you to die. “ It broke my heart. I didn’t know what to say. What do you say to a six year old about death? I looked at him and I said, “Jordan baby why are you saying that?” He looked at me and said Uncle Dominic died. I said yes he did and he’s in heaven with God. Uncle Dominic was very sick and the doctors couldn’t help him anymore. Even though I had been praying and asking God to take me I looked at my grandson and said, “Jordan I’m not sick and I don’t plan on going anywhere. I’m going to stick around for as long as I can so I can watch you grow up.” I don’t know if that was the right thing to say to him but like I said before what do I say to a six year old about death? I can relate to the fear of seeing one of your children go through losing a child. I live with that fear every day. My daughter has a set of identical twin boys. They are four years old. Gabriel and Elijah. About 3 months after Dominic passed we found out Gabriel has leukemia. And although leukemia is one of the cancers they have made a lot of progress in and he has a good chance of overcoming it, it is still cancer and people still die from it. I live with the fear now that my daughter could possibly go through the horrible ordeal of losing a child and I could possibly lose a grandchild. Gabriel has to go through two years of treatments and he seems to be doing good but I feel like I’m waiting for the hammer to fall just like it did with Dominic. Dominic was doing well on the treatments they had him on and then the treatments quit working and in 6 months he was gone. I’m not sure what I would do if something happened to Gabriel.
I think you gave your grandson a brilliant answer. You didn’t make promises you can’t keep, but assured him that your plans are to stick around as long as possible. (See, your family DOES need you!!!!) About Gabriel, it is a very scary thing, because you know it can happen. But, fear that it “might” it is robbing you of peace. IF Gabriel joins Dominic because of the cancer, God will give you both grace and walk it with you. Would it be absolutely horrible? YES, that goes without saying! But when those thoughts start to make you panic and full of fear, have a plan – something you can concentrate on that will take your thoughts in a different direction so you can keep moving forward, even if it feels like that isn’t happening. Fear comes from the enemy. Tell him to back off, that you aren’t playing his game any more!