Posted in Grief Resources, tagged God's leading, God's voice, Grieving, hope, loss of loved one, loss of spouse, widowhood, widows on February 29, 2020| Leave a Comment »
Visit my Facebook Page for words of hope and inspiration during grief…
This is just a chapter…not the whole story
Enjoy the sunsets, enjoy the coffee and the solitude. Breathe, rest and be kind to yourself. This is just a chapter….it’s a season….it will leave a footprint on your journey. Enjoy the scenery along the way. Pray for direction and God will lead you and direct you. You will find hope and joy again!
Posted in Shared Stories, tagged God's leading, grief, hope, loss of loved one, pray, purpose, renewed life, surrender, widow, widowhood on June 30, 2016| Leave a Comment »
Taken from a facebook friend, Mary Kate Cranston, who has a blog “Cry Laugh Heal”:
How do you deal with change? Here’s a new post about when life pushes us in a new direction. It sounds funny to say but change is definitely a constant of life. As David Bowie wrote in his classic hit song, Changes, you not only have to turn and face the strange but you also have to turn and face the strain because life is making you move on by rewriting your script.
Posted in Shared Stories, tagged death, Divine Intervention, faith, God's leading, grief, grief journey, Grieving, loss of loved one, purpose, renewed life, widow, widowhood on December 5, 2015| Leave a Comment »
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What’s on your agenda next Saturday….12/12/15???? Shopping???
Whether you’re shopping by the Mall of Georgia or wanting to escape the mad rush, please stop in and say “Hi” if you’re in the area. I’ll be doing my very first book signing at an actual book store next weekend. It’s a fairly large store so if you’re looking for shopping ideas and books fall in that category, please stop by, Books For Less, by the Mall of Georgia!
Books For Less: 2815 Buford Drive, Buford, GA 30519 “I hope to see you next Saturday (12/12/15) between 1 and 3 pm.”
Always a 20% discount on cash purchases for “A Widow’s Pursuit“. Buy one for someone struggling through grief over the loss of a loved one during this Christmas season. It may give them hope and encouragement to know that there’s more to life than grief!
Posted in Shared Stories, tagged faith, God's leading, God's plan, grief, grief journey, Grieving, hope, loss of loved one, purpose, renewed life, widow, widowhood on March 29, 2015| 2 Comments »
Hard to believe… 20 years ago my first love passed away. I became a 34 year old widow with 2 daughters, 6 and 7 years old. My life changed in a matter of weeks when my husband died of pneumonia. This wasn’t what I planned. My plan was to continue living in our Florida home, going on yearly vacations, and enjoying our children as they grew up. But apparently, it wasn’t in God’s plan. He had another plan for me.
As I look back over the last 20 years, life turned into a journey where I never thought I would travel. It took a couple years to work through my grief before I could see the light of day again. But once I pulled through, with continuous faith in being led by God’s peace and guidance, I emerged as a new being.
I went to college and found a career to help others going through grief and hard times. At 37 yrs old, I started my adventure in social work. My children came first so school took awhile. I received my bachelor’s degree (BSW) when I was 46 and 4 years later, I received my master’s degree (MSW) followed by a Licensed Master’s of Social Work degree (LMSW). I was 50 years old with an education and life experience.
I raised my children for 14 years on my own. I refused a marriage proposal because if I had taken it, I would have regretted it. My children did not need a replacement and didn’t need any other grief in their lives. I wanted them to know that they came first until they were adults and on their own.
Today, at 54, I’ve been remarried for 5 years. My oldest, at 27, is in nursing school and working in the hospital as a nurse tech. My youngest, at 26, will be getting married in a few months. She completed her bachelor’s degree and then moved to California. We live on opposite sides of the country but my main concern is that she is happy. And I believe she is!
To sum it up, this year I finally obtained a full-time job position as a social worker for a home health agency. I actually pursued my dreams and I’m able to serve others now that are having a difficult time with illness, grief and loss. It comes full circle and down to one thing…..
II Corinthians I: 3,4
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
Posted in Grief Resources, tagged God's leading, God's plan, grief, grief resources, healing, loss of loved one, purpose, renewed life, widow, widowhood on December 21, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Do you sometimes feel alone in your grief? No one quite understands you? You are definitely not alone! There are many widows that are experiencing similar feelings and wondering what to do now. Please consider going to a Widow’s conference in February in Texas.
A New Season Widows Conference is a three day event that offers insight and approaches to the difficult process of grieving after losing a spouse. It is Christ centered around Ecclesiastes 3:1 “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” For more information please follow link to, Dallas Conference 2015 Registration and Information.
They are offering discounted hotel rates up until January 25th, 2015. This could be a New Beginning in your New Year.
Posted in Grief Resources, tagged death, faith, God's leading, grief, grief resources, grief support groups, GriefShare, hope, loss of loved one, widow, widowhood on August 23, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Revelations, tagged awareness, death, faith, God's leading, God's plan, grief, grief journey, purpose, widow, widowhood on April 13, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Our New Life in Georgia
In a family shouldn’t your spouse be first and children second? But what happens when your spouse dies? Should the children become first priority?
The way I prioritize, is that God comes first. In my marriage, my spouse came second and our children came third. When my spouse died, my children stepped into second place until they became adults. It was an enormous sacrifice. They were 6 and 7 years old when their father passed. I was only 34 years old.
Keeping God first meant He was the only Father to my children. Yes, they had a huge void in their hearts from a human father, but they had some very supportive uncles and grandfathers who filled in. They were happy children for the most part. It was very challenging however to be the only parent.
Now human nature calls, and some years down the road, I’m lonely. I begin to date and find someone that makes me happy. My girls express to me that they are not fond of this new man in their mother’s life. I first feel that they have no business in my business. Luckily, they were still in second place and not first place. It was really what God’s plan was for my new life.
Keeping God in first place, I wanted to keep my lines of communication open with Him. Through my years of dating throughout my widowhood, I had made a promise with God that I wouldn’t sleep with any man unless I was remarried. My choices of men were not your men that had “God first” in their hearts, if you know what I mean. So most of the time, any dating relationships usually ended quite quickly.
All this to tell you that I remained a single parent until my daughters were adults. This was one of the best decisions I have ever made. The sacrifices were enormous. It was not easy but so well worth it! Both of my daughters have blossomed into caring, responsible adults that are giving purpose into this world. Isn’t this the whole point of sacrificing for our children?
And me? Once my children were independent adults, I then married a guy worth waiting for!
How many of you can relate????
Posted in Shared Stories, tagged depression, drugs, God's leading, mental health, suicide, widow on April 27, 2013| Leave a Comment »
Years after I became a widow, I got on the social media band wagon. I was amazed at the information that was shared between widows. Though my husband died suddenly from pneumonia, I could not even imagine the suddenness of a suicide. This article is written by Julie Barnes, taken from her website, Claim Your Shine.
Julie writes about her son, Chris, in her blog post, They Just Don’t Check Out, about how he took his life and left 2 small children behind. She states, “It’s important for people to understand that a person does not just wake up one day and go…today I’m going to kill myself.” She adds that, “Equally important to note is that the person is not in their right mind whether it be from drugs, depression, or mental health issues….”
As a social worker and former widow, I think this article is a good resource that gives more awareness to suicide. I believe that to have suicide awareness and to be sensitive to God’s leading in our life, we might be more conscious of early warning signs.
Attribution Statement: This article was first published by Julie Barnes on Claim Your Shine. Julie Barnes is a women’s empowerment coach, founder of ClaimYourShine.com and the creator of the program, Finding YOUR Pheonix. You can get Julie’s FREE 7 day video series “Get Happy, Healthy, & Empowered” Here.
I was widowed at 34 years of age, with 2 young daughters, 6 and 7 years old. After raising my daughters, and pursuing a second career, I've recently remarried and wrote a book on my grief journey and beyond. My purpose for writing my memoir, "A Widow's Pursuit", is to encourage other young widows, that life goes on as we make new and joyful memories. We all have a different grief journey but we can help and encourage each other to persevere through grief and pursue new dreams!
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