A Special Invitation: Join My Book Launch Team

🌷 ...and Be Part of Something Hope-Filled

On May 12, as And the Sun Came Up: A True Story of Grief and Hope is released into the world, I am inviting YOU to be part of the Launch Team.

• If you have a heart for children walking through grief…

• If you believe in helping families grow stronger through faith…

• If you would love behind-the-scenes updates, early access to the book, special giveaways, and encouragement along the way…

✨ I would be honored to have you join us.

Launch team members will:

• ✨ Receive early updates and exclusive content

• ✨ Help share hope with families who need it most

• ✨ Be entered into special giveaways

• ✨ Play a meaningful role in bringing this message to children

Children walking through grief need hope, and you can help place it in their hands.

🌿 I would love for you to be part of this hope-filled journey. It is a children's book of about 34 pages, so it's a quick read! Your sharing and reviews are extremely important to getting this book into the hands of children who need the hope it brings.

👉 To be part of the team and join our Facebook page, please sign up here : https://forms.gle/DoW7ovse2ggGk7h68

As we continue this journey of hope together, this month’s reflection focuses on carrying our loved one’s love with us.

🌸 APRIL Mini-Series: Growing Forward

Carrying Their Love With You

How Love Continues After Loss

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. – Psalm 34:18

Grief isn’t about “letting go” of the person we love.

It’s about learning how to carry their love with us in new ways, in ways that bring comfort, connection, and hope.

🌼 When Love Doesn’t End

“You need to move on…” Have you ever heard that statement when you were still in grief? It’s one that really gets to me, and not in a good way. People, love doesn’t just disappear. We love those we lose until the end of time. Our time.

As I’ve said in previous blogs, grief is different for everyone. Some can grieve for a loved one and move forward somewhat easily. Others experience grief in a sharp way throughout their lives. It’s a step-by-step process, moving forward.

And that’s the point. We don’t let go – we carry forward. Maybe you’ve felt that too… Grief is a human reaction to great love. It goes with us, sometimes quietly, sometimes at a low moment, and sometimes it screams into and out of our hearts. The point is that how we face grief is dependent upon the type of person we are and what our faith tells us.

In the Bible, when Jesus’ childhood friend Lazarus dies, Jesus weeps. He absolutely knows He will bring Lazarus back to life. But He also sees His friends, Mary and Martha, grieving and believing in His power, that He could have stopped Lazarus from dying if He had been there when Lazarus was sick. And seeing their grief brings Him to grief also, knowing their pain and deep sadness. Jesus cries over Jerusalem and the path they have taken, looking for a worldly king and not the kind of kingship He brings. Isn’t Jesus our best example?

🌿 What Does It Mean to “Carry” Someone With You?

As time goes by, I have grieved the loss of some memories. I don’t remember my daddy’s voice or laughter. But I can talk about him as if he were here yesterday. There were five of us siblings when he died. Each of us has brought memories to our conversations. How we laugh, cry, and remember those times! I have had people say to me, “Oh, your daddy died when you were eight years old? You must not remember much about him then.” That always just gets me, because those early years are such formative years. If anything, my six-year-old twin brothers (at that time) have preserved so many memories and shared things that I am totally amazed at!

We not only talk about him, but we also keep traditions alive. We always read the Bible together before opening gifts on Christmas Eve in my family. We work hard to make it a habit of going to church each week. We love to sing and pray and be together as families, just as our own parents modeled for us.

Parents/guardians, one of the best things you can do for a child of loss is to keep the memories of the loved one alive! When a child seems interested in talking about that person, be open to answering questions and talking about memories. I’m not saying you should force talk on the child, but I think it’s important to be open and share what you remember with them. Let them know that they are not alone in their thoughts about their loved one.

Finally, if a child seems troubled or unwilling to talk about their loved one, it may be worth talking with a counselor or close family member or friend to see if the depression or grief is deeply seated. Children need to feel hope and see themselves moving forward, even when the growth is slow. There is strength in seeking support…

🌷 How Children Naturally Hold On

It is powerful when children speak. They may ask to hear stories again and again about the person they lost. It is a good sign when they WANT to talk.

If they want to talk to the person they lost, that is okay, too. Many child grief specialists now understand that children don’t need to “let go” of the person they love. Instead, they learn to carry that relationship in new ways.

In modern grief research (often called the “continuing bonds” approach), children talking to a loved one who has died is often seen as:

• A way to stay connected

• A natural expression of love

• A form of emotional processing

Children might want to say goodnight to a parent, share thoughts with them out loud, ask questions, or imagine what their loved one would say.

This is usually not denial—it’s connection.

With gentle guidance, children can learn that while their loved one is no longer here in the same way, their love remains, and they are never alone. They may also want to keep special objects, draw pictures, or imagine the loved one nearby.

This is healthy, not something to correct.

🌿 Healthy Ways to Continue the Bond

If you are looking for ideas to help a child (or even an adult) continue the bond with the loved one who has passed, you might try one or more of the following ideas:

• Memory boxes - save items, pictures, or other keepsakes relating to the loved one

• Saying their name often to show you haven’t forgotten about them

• Celebrating birthdays or special days relating to the loved one

• Writing letters to or drawing pictures for the loved one to hang up or save in the memory box

• Praying and talking to God about them - I think this is extra important!

✨ I want to emphasize the fact that these ideas bring comfort, not confusion.

🌼 When Grief Softens, Love Remains

It’s the ultimate goal to help someone move forward from grief to hope. The pain may change, but the love stays steady. When grief softens, love does not disappear; it remains.

This is part of healing, not a step backward.

✨ Faith Perspective: Love That Lasts

Part of hope is knowing that God holds our loved ones who are in Christ. Those who have accepted Him as their Lord and Savior on earth are with that Savior now. We are still connected to them through memories, faith, and hope. It can be a wakeup call for us when we see that loved one go to meet Jesus, but we question if we, too, would be ready. It is never too early to talk to children about Jesus and what He has done for us. In fact, I truly believe we can sing godly songs to them as babies and toddlers, and that will set a base for their lives. Saying prayers at mealtime and praying with them at bedtime is also an appropriate way to let them learn about our Savior.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:38–39 (NIV)

🌷 A Gentle Truth to Hold Onto

We don’t have to say goodbye to love for someone we have lost. We just learn to carry it differently. It finds a new place to live, right inside our hearts.

This is one of the reasons I wrote And the Sun Came Up: A True Story of Grief and Hope and the accompanying hope journal Sunlight for the Soul.

Because children don’t need to be told to forget – they need to be shown how to remember in ways that feel safe, loving, and hope-filled.

🎨 Children’s Activity: Ways I Carry Their Love

• Draw a picture of your loved one

• Around them, draw or write:

  • Something they taught you

  • Something you remember

  • Something you still love about them

💛 Add a heart or sunshine to show: Love is still with you!

💬 Discussion Questions

• What is something you remember that makes you smile?

• How do you feel close to your loved one?

• What is one way you can remember them this week?

• What do you think they would want you to remember?

❤️ Remember this: Love doesn’t leave; it stays with us in new ways.