Marvelous Monday: Hope

Hope.

Grief.

I know the words "Marvelous" (as in Marv. Monday) and "Grief" are oxymorons but bare with me....

There is a real family...



that lost this sweet, handsome, cooooool son, brother, grandson, cuz, brother-in-law.

As you can imagine...shock, sadness, anger, loneliness, fear, all the emotions that accompany grief followed suit. However, there was never a loss of hope.

Soon following, this family invested in a form of therapy~a faithful steed. It quickly became not just any steed but their youngest daughter's loving companion and bestest friend. The Lord used this animal to bring smiles to many a sad and gray day.

Sadly, this sweet boy had to be put to rest yesterday. Even thought it's an animal instead of a person~once again, the same family. The same emotional roller coaster of loss. Still~no loss of hope. This 17 year old girl's Facebook status the night of her loss was this:

today.... I not only lost a friend, but i lost the best companion and horse a girl could ever have. his death will not go without tears but i am here to say that even though through all this rain and thunder, the Lord is still shining His light through the storm.



Why am I telling you all of this? Well, it so happens that the real mother and real father of that real family...

...just wrote a real book on the topic of loss and hope in the midst of it. Interestingly enough, this book was hot the press within the last couple of weeks. Note: as you can see, it's not just a book of enticing stories and shallow antecdotes. Their real story and their real words have been put to the test.

Perhaps you don't feel like the topic applies to you. Perhaps you just know someone facing it at a distance. Loss may happen to "other people" for a time. But one day, you'll be faced with the same range of real emotions and the real choice of where you will turn. What's Marvelous about this Monday is you too can have real hope.

Here's what real people just like you and me are saying about the book:

"It's beautifully written. I gained a lot of insight into the nuances of grief. The book shows that we all need to keep working on how we relate to those who are grieving and what we, the grieving, can or should expect from those around us--...difficult waters there...From my point of view, the book's biggest strength is the HUMANITY Glenda and Preston expressed in it..."

"I got the book today at Family Christian Book Store and I am so excited about reading it! I have already read a couple of chapters and I can so relate to your feelings of grief...you really don't know what grief is until you have personally experienced it. It's a little tough reading it...reminds me of those first few months after I lost my son..."

"Thank you so much for the book. It has been a blessing!"

"I recieved my copy yeterday and can't put it down."

[Shameless plug] If you'd like to check out Finding Hope in Times of Grief for yourself or even as a gift, click here for the book or here for Kindle OR to join in the action, you can come take part in the Facebook group here.