What does it really mean for a Christian to grieve with hope? 

Because I know what it is to wake up one day to a life you never expected.

I know what it is to face a future that’s not only unwanted but utterly shapeless without the person you always assumed you’d grow old with.

I know what it is to care less about the pains of hunger because the pain of loss hurts so much more.

I know what it is to look into the eyes of your children, unable to fix their pain and fearful for what loss will do to them.

But I also know hope.

And hope isn’t a birthday wish we conjure up with eyes squeezed shut. Hope isn’t knocking on wood or crossing our fingers that what we want just might come true if everything aligns for us.

Hope is anchored in a person.

Christ is our Hope.

When feelings are screaming different, when the enemy is whispering lies, when our circumstances are shouting defeat – Hope still reigns because Christ still rules.

We can’t control our circumstances. Try as we might to steer our dreams and white-knuckle our kids and live responsibly with seat belts and sunscreen and savings accounts, life can dish up some hard when we least expect it.

And as believers, we don’t get a pass on the hard.

But we do get a say in how we handle the hard.

While we can’t control our circumstances, we can control what we do in the circumstances.

That’s why I’ve put together a free resource called 7 Days of Hope for Your Shattered Heart.

When your heart is broken, how do you move forward when you can’t begin to fathom the next step let alone next week?

You give the pieces of your broken heart and life and loss to God.

Moving through grief and loss is excruciating work, the hardest I’ve ever done, but if we will do the hard work of lifting our shattered hearts to God, we can trust him to put them together again.

These aren’t platitudes to bandage over the gaping wounds of loss to just get on with life.

I know God fixes broken hearts because he’s reconstructed mine. It doesn’t look like what it did. I’m different, softer in many ways and stronger in others. I see things differently. I’ve learned what to let go of and what to cling to.

I haven’t done it perfectly, but I have been a student of grief and loss for the last few years.

I’ve seen firsthand how many are walking through days with shattered hearts. We desperately need to know God will take care of us and we will see joy again.

But it won’t just happen.

We have to take intentional steps to move forward in hope.

7 Days of Hope for Your Shattered Heart will lead you through 7 proactive steps to help you fully grieve your pain or loss and take hold of the hope we have in Christ.

Each day has an encouraging step rooted in scripture followed by application questions, space to journal your response and a prayer.

I’m thrilled to make this available. It is my heart for you and a hand held out to help you move forward in loss.

You can get a copy of 7 Days of Hope for Your Shattered Heart when you subscribe to email here. After you’ve subscribed, check your email for a link to download your copy of 7 Days of Hope for Your Shattered Heart.

I’ve already prayed for you and I am rooting for you. God has much for you because he delights in reshaping shattered hearts given fully to him.