10/21/2026
Today was one of those days when you just know you’re right where you’re supposed to be. Now don’t get me wrong, I would change it all in less than a second to have my Jeffrey here but there were so many “God moments” that I had to take a second and pause.
One of my main goals since losing Jeff is to help people understand the realities of grief. I’m convinced our entire society, especially in Christian circles, can use a good tuning up in this area. We, as a culture, just skip on past all the pain (and all the beautiful lessons that come with that pain) and we just keep on trucking.
There was a recent event that made me feel so unbelievably unheard. It made me feel like all the truths I’ve been shouting for 5 years, all the hard fought wisdom I’ve shared had just been completely ignored, and then…
Our community had yet another tragedy, someone gone way too soon. Our neighbors in the City of Gautier also experienced a tragic loss of a beautiful, young woman who served the city for almost 20 years. As I was sitting outside (on Jeff’s birthday, mind you…) I received a message asking us to be at the High School to share about grief and what we do, with all the precious band kids. I kid you not, less than two hours later I received another message from The City of Gautier asking us to come and talk with their staff.
Both events were heavy and hard but beautiful too. Although our time at the school wasn’t long, I left there hopeful for what we can offer to those kids. But today, standing in City Hall in Gautier, I got to be in the room for over an hour. I got to look in their eyes and hear their stories and cry with them. I got to tell them how unbelievably rare it is to have a leader offer something like this to staff members. How uncommon it is for that many people to show up, men and women alike, knowing it was going to be something hard and uncomfortable. We don’t like to be uncomfortable people and I’m convinced that just might be what’s wrong with the whole world…
It was one of those days where I literally felt like I had a light in my hand and I was able to walk into the darkness of pain and turn the light on. Does it fix it? No, nothing can. But did it make a room full of people feel seen, less alone, understood? I believe so. I left there just knowing THIS is what we’re supposed to be doing. I am so very grateful to all the leaders out there that care, truly care. They know grief and loss are not small matters, they offered space for their students and employees to feel what they needed to feel. It really is that simple.
Grateful for The J and all we get to do. My cup feels a little fuller tonight.
