josiah+co. Blog — Grief

This New Years felt different for me. There was no rushing to craft resolutions or setting lofty goals. Instead, it felt like a significant moment—a deep ‘settling in.’ Settling into myself, my journey, and all the ways my life has shifted in the past few years. A Journey of Transformation The past five years have brought immense change, profound loss, and bittersweet growth. As a single co-parent to three earth-side kiddos, I’ve navigated life’s complexities with as much grace as I could muster. There’s been recurrent miscarriage, the shift from a partnered life to a solo one, and the unraveling...

Sometimes I don’t want to feel all my feelings because there are so many of them when navigating life after loss and divorce and deconstruction… and f*ck this is a lot. This season has been so disorienting as I find my footing after splitting from my partner. It’s been two years, and it still feels really really heavy. Even though we have gotten into a groove of co-parenting the kids and seeing them on a consistent basis, it still feels awful. There’s been a lot of big feelings in our house. Big feelings from the kids. Even bigger feelings from...

8 years of missing you. The sting of your absence has stretched out with time. At certain moments the scar gets scratched open and the salty triggers remind me of all we are missing and have missed. Brothers chasing each other in the greenhouse, and imagining you with yours.Pregnancy announcements, even still, and the breath I hold desperately hoping they make it.Dear friends with two under 2, and the reminder of how desperately I wanted you and your brother close in age. The birth of fresh new babies, even after holding three healthy ones of my own. The sadness that...

Calvin* and I began experiencing strains in our relationship prior to my first experience with grief. The exclusivity, intensity, and pride that characterized our interactions had begun to weigh on my heart. I was playing a part; whitewashing my tomb. I said all the right things, behaved in all the right ways, but behind closed doors I was suffocating.   I knew our divorce was inevitable the day my step dad died. Our pastor sat me down and explained to me how God was glorified by sending my loved one to hell. I nodded my head, thanked him for his...

At some point in our lives we will be faced with supporting a friend through loss. Even though grief is inevitable in all of our lives, we are left wondering "What should I say?" "What should I do?" "How can I support my friend?" Here is a list of 5 ways you can support others through loss.   1. Practice Empathy Be empathic, not sympathetic. Be willing to sit in the roughness of grief, don't sugarcoat it. Let them know their feelings are valid, and you are holding space for them. Watch the video by Bréne Brown on empathy - it’s an...