Fighting For Joy

In this episode I am excited to introduce you to a local friend of mine, Laura Ruwe. Laura and her husband Andrew are the adoptive parents of two young boys. Eric and I have been friends with the Ruwes for many years, but as Laura and I have watched one another walk through difficult days these past 5 years, our hearts have been uniquely connected. Laura is in a tougher season right now, but I'm so grateful that she came on the podcast during this time. We need examples of people who are willing to share what the battle looks like in the MIDST of the storm. It’s brave to say, “We are still trying to figure that out." Or, "I’m not quite sure how this is going to play out for us yet”. Laura is tender and honest as she shares about what grief looks like in adoption, feelings of isolation, prayer, seasons of waiting, social media, and of course, fighting for joy! I hope you are helped and encouraged by this conversation. I know you will see beauty in the brokenness of Laura's story. God is doing some amazing things in her heart and life, and her love and gratitude for her sweet family is evident and inspiring!

Here is the second part of my conversation with my friend and mentor, Nancy Guthrie. I introduced her in Part 1, so if you haven't had a chance to listen to that yet, I encourage you to go back and do that first as it will be easier to jump in to the second half of our time together. In this episode, we talk about some practical aspects of grief, like fighting bitterness instead of tears, and learning how to temporarily "put grief on the shelf”, a tool to stay engaged with those around you as you keep moving forward in your journey. We also talk a little bit about Nancy's podcast and who inpires her. These two episodes were really special for me to do! I've learned so much from Nancy over the years, not just about grief, but also about friendship, marriage, serving others, and how to study the Bible and treasure God’s Word in ways that provide comfort, help, strength, and hope.

I am honored to have my friend and mentor, Nancy Guthrie, on the podcast today! Nancy is a writer, Bible teacher, conference speaker, a contributor for The Gospel Coalition, and host of the Help Me Teach the Bible podcast. Nancy and her husband, David, live in Nashville, Tennessee, with their son, Matt, living close by. They have two other children, a daughter, Hope, and a son, Gabriel, who were both born with a rare genetic disorder and both died within their first year of life. Having experienced the brokenness of this world in heartbreaking ways, Nancy has fought for joy by finding comfort and hope in God’s Word, trusting in His sovereignty, and helping others see the trustworthiness and beauty of Scripture, and the help that it provides. For many years, Nancy has served as a mentor and influential teacher in my life. Her books and studies have equipped and helped me as I have studied the Bible, and her ministry has greatly encouraged my walk with the Lord! After Jackson died, she embraced me as a friend and fellow grieving mom and has tenderly walked with me these past 5 years. It is such a blessing to learn from a friend who is a number of years ahead of me on this grief journey. As I have mentioned in previous episodes, the Guthries host weekend retreats for couples who have lost a child, and attending one of the those retreats shortly after Jackson died has been one of the most helpful things for us in grief. Nancy is a gracious friend and a wise teacher - I’m so grateful for her willingness to record this episode with me. Today you will hear Part 1 of our conversation.

This past week I have been reflecting on Leanne’s sweet reminder that God loves to fill empty spaces (Episode 4). I found it especially helpful during this time of year when many of us can more deeply feel the emptiness in our lives. Did you feel some emptiness this Christmas? Maybe you haven’t lost a loved one, but your heart feels empty. Or you’re experiencing some sort of brokenness in your family, or with your health, or in a relationship? Or maybe you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, stressed out, or sad? Well, whether this really IS the “most wonderful time of the year” for you or if its just been downright lonely and sad (or even a messy, complicated mix of everything!), I wanted to record this mini-episode to remind you that God REALLY IS enough to fill our empty spaces.

It is such a privilege to introduce you to my special friend, Leanne Ballinger. Eric and I met Mike and Leanne in 2014 when we attended David and Nancy Guthrie’s grief retreat in Nashville together. My friendship with Leanne began with a long hug and tears, and God immediately began knitting our hearts together in powerful ways. Mike and Leanne's second son, Andrew, was born with complications and he was given a 25% chance of survival. After enduring 7 and 1/2 months of traumatic ups and downs, sweet Drew went to be with the Lord in July of 2013. With Jackson dying in June of that same year, our grief journey has been on a very similar timeframe. Our stories are different and our sons died at different ages and through different circumstances, but God has given us such likemindedness in one another. It has been such a help to have a kindred spirit like Leanne to walk through grief with. In the midst of such heartbreaking circumstances, we have seen our friendship as a kindness of the Lord. I think you will be touched by this tender conversation between two grieving moms who have become friends and confidants through great loss and great hope.

Today you will hear from my friend, Melissa Sasse. In 2007, her life changed forever when she suffered an aneurysm in her neck that caused three strokes. Because of the limitations that this left her with, she was in need of someone to drive her and her children to run errands and get groceries once a week when they moved back to Nebraska a number of years ago. I volunteered...and it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Melissa's own suffering has made her keenly aware of mine and she has been such a help to me in grief. She was one of the first people to show up at our door when Jackson died and she hasn't stopped showing up for me since. No matter where you land on the political spectrum, please know that this podcast is not about politics...it's about friendship, and faith, and pressing on. Melissa leads by example in this fight for joy. She has a strong and deep faith that has provided such hope and gratefulness, but her story reminds us once again that faith doesn't make the consequences of this broken world hurt any less. I hope you are encouraged and inspired in your OWN fight for joy as you listen.

Today I’m going to introduce you to one of my oldest and dearest friends, Cathy Brown. We were roommates in college and our almost 30 year friendship is one of the biggest blessings in my life. I’m excited for you to get to know her just because she’s a phenomenal woman and friend, but she’s also an ideal guest for this podcast because Cathy fights for joy in beautiful and inspiring ways. Shortly after we graduated from college, Cathy experienced the sudden and traumatic loss of her mom. Listen in as she shares some of her story of loss and how it has shaped her life and faith. Cathy is such an encouragement to me, and I know she will be for you too!

Today my husband, Eric Blick, joins me on the podcast as we share a little bit about why this fight for joy is personal for us. As I mentioned in the preview episode, this podcast will be full of stories, and I thought it was appropriate to “go first” with our story. Eric and I met at Wheaton College and have been married for 24 years. We have four children and live in Nebraska. Our firstborn son, Jackson, died at the age of 16 in 2013. Our goal in this first episode is not to fully or perfectly tell our story. In fact, there are a few details that we almost edited out because we remembered them differently. But, that is part of trauma...and part of going through grief together, but separately. So we didn't make any edits. With this podcast, I've decided that "done is better than perfect". Grief is messy...and this podcast will be messy at times as well. I'm thankful that Eric agreed to be my first guest. He has believed in this project from the start and I seriously couldn't have gotten it started without him. So I'm excited for you to get to know him a little bit as we share our hearts and help you better understand the “why” behind this podcast.

Welcome to my new podcast, Fighting for Joy. Life in this broken world is hard, but there IS joy and hope to be found. In this preview episode, I will share my vision for this podcast and begin to share why this flight for joy is personal to me.