by Gary Roe | Courageous Living, Decision-making, Depression, Emotional pain, Faith, Fear, Forgiveness, Grief and Loss, Grief recovery, Healing, Hope, Loss of a Child, Loss of a friend, Loss of a parent, Loss of a sibling, loss of a spouse, Love, Purpose and meaning, Relationships, Sadness, Suffering and Pain, Worry
I don’t know about you, but I’m sad today. Six friends of mine died this year, including a young neighbor across the street. Two other friends lost teen sons to suicide. Our family’s beloved optometrist was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s...
by Gary Roe | Anxiety, Death and dying, Faith, Fear, Grief and Loss, Healing from the past, Hospice stories, Loneliness, Peace, Physical illness, Purpose and meaning, Relationships, Stress Management, Suffering and Pain
We’re made for relationship. No wonder loss hurts. It crushes our hearts. As a hospice chaplain, I believe one of our greatest fears is feeling alone, left behind, or abandoned. I’ve felt it myself, and I’ve heard it from the hearts of hundreds of others. Steven’s...
by Gary Roe | Anger management, Anxiety, Courageous Living, Depression, Emotional pain, Faith, Fatigue and Exhaustion, Fear, Grief and Loss, Grief recovery, Guilt, Loss of a Child, loss of a spouse, Physical symptoms, Stress Management, Suffering and Pain, Trauma recovery
“I’m running, pure and simple,” Bart said. “I was never good enough. When Tad died, I knew it was my fault somehow. I fell back into all the old stuff so easily.” Bart’s son Tad was a lively, active kid. He was into everything as soon as...
by Gary Roe | Anxiety, Depression, Emotional pain, Faith, Fear, Forgiveness, Grief recovery, Guilt, Loss of a Child, loss of a spouse, Purpose and meaning, Spiritual questioning, Spiritual suffering, Suffering and Pain
“I wish I could see her somehow. I want to know where she is, what it’s like, and what she’s doing.” Connie said. Connie’s daughter Libby was a wild child. She experimented with drugs early and became an addict. After hitting bottom, she...
by Gary Roe | Death and dying, Depression, Emotional pain, Faith, Fatigue and Exhaustion, Grief and Loss, Grief recovery, Guilt, Honesty and Transparency, Loss of a Child, loss of a spouse, Purpose and meaning, Relationships
“Everything good seems far away. I’m emotionally and spiritually paralyzed. I feel dead inside,” Jack shared. Jack’s daughter Chloe was a daddy’s girl. She clung to Jack wherever he went. He adored her. Chloe grew up in a stable and...
by Gary Roe | Abuse Recovery, Anger management, Anxiety, Communication, Courageous Living, Death and dying, Depression, divorce recovery, Emotional pain, Faith, Forgiveness, Grief and Loss, Grief recovery, Guilt, Healing, Healing from the past, Healing from trauma, Hospice stories, Peace, Regret, Relationships, Stress Management, Suffering and Pain, Trauma recovery, Worry
In grief, we sometimes carry extra baggage we’re unaware of. Wounds from the past can exert their influence and complicate the present. Grief is tough enough, without this extra weight. A mountain of regret Years ago, I had a serious conversation with a...
