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Hope After Child & Sibling Loss/the empty chair endeavorAuthor: Greg Buffkin/Trauma Recovery & Healing Journey Host
This is where grief is allowed to be brutally honest, faith is allowed to wrestle with hard questions, and hope doesn't mean forgetting after the unthinkable loss of a child or sibling, from a Christ centered perspective. Our conversations are real and often raw as we talk about what happens to faith, family, identity and purpose when the empty chair becomes permanent and how GOD can meet us there.When someone we love dies, life changes forever. Faith can become complicated. Questions about GOD can become unavoidable, joy can feel disloyal, and the empty chair at the table can remain painfully real.This podcast doesn't offer easy answers or ask you to "move on." Instead we walk together through the hard questions of grief -- anger, doubt, faith, marriage, family, surviving siblings, holidays, anniversaries, and what it means to build a life you never imagined living.Through personal stories and conversations with bereaved parents and siblings, as well as honest reflections about GOD and scripture, we explore what it means to grieve deeply while still holding on to hope.Because hope doesn't forget the empty chair!Hope After Child & Sibling Loss is part of the Empty Chair Endeavor - a place where grief is welcomed, faith is allowed to wrestle with difficult questions, and those who have lost someone they love can discover that they are not alone.The host, Greg Buffkin, brings his personal experience with grief into this role, after he and his wife Cathy experienced the devastating loss of their 26 year old son Ryan to suicide in October 2015.DISCLAIMER: The views, beliefs, and opinions expressed by our guests may not necessarily be shared by this podcast or its host. We believe there is only one triune GOD: the Father, His son Jesus Christ, and His Holy Spirit. We believe that Jesus humbled himself to become fully human, conceived by the virgin Mary through the Holy Spirit, retained his divine character and identity, lived a sinless life, executed on a Roman Language: en-us Genres: Christianity, Health & Fitness, Mental Health, Religion & Spirituality Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Grace in the Wilderness of Grief with Sharon Hawkins, Bradley’s Mom
Episode 4
Tuesday, 18 August, 2026
One minute you’re talking in the driveway, and the next minute your whole life splits into before and after. Sharon Hawkins joins us to tell the story of her son Bradley, a larger-than-life 21-year-old with a contagious laugh, an Eagle Scout’s grit, and a heart that kept pulling toward home. She also shares the moment that still feels unreal: Bradley’s sudden death after a skateboarding fall, and the blessing of a sweet visit just hours before. Bradley’s story starts even earlier, in Kharkov, Ukraine, where Sharon and her husband Scott adopted him from an orphanage in 2001. We talk candidly about international adoption, early neglect, attachment and bonding struggles, and his diagnosis of reactive attachment disorder. Sharon explains what those years are really like inside a family, how faith and steady mentors kept showing up, and why she holds tight to the hope that Bradley belongs to Jesus. We also get practical for bereaved parents and anyone who wants to support them: why “being present” matters more than advice, what to say when you don’t have words, and ways to carry memory forward through letters, photos, recordings, keepsakes, fundraisers, and traditions. Sharon shares her ongoing ministry, Grace in the Wilderness, plus her podcast Finding Grace in the Wilderness, built around Isaiah 43:19 and the promise that God makes a way in the wilderness. If this conversation helps you, please subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more grieving families can find real hope and support.https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finding-grace-in-the-wilderness/id1755067020http://www.wildernessgrace.org/Share any comments here *** If you have an Apple account, please take a minute to leave a review on Apple Podcasts if you enjoy this podcast by clicking the link below. By doing so you help increase our visibility and discoverability for others, and we value your feedback!https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hope-after-child-sibling-loss-the-empty-chair-endeavor/id1654053256**** You can also opt to leave a review or rating on Podchasers by clicking the link below. Your opinions matter and mean so much to us!https://www.podchaser.com/HopeAfterChildSiblingLossTheEmptyChairEndeavorYou can contact us by email at: hope@emptychairendeavor.comIf you would like to share your story on an upcoming episode, please send us an email so that we can talk with you about it.Thank you for listening!
