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my grandmothers taught me the true strength of a woman

How My Grandmothers Left a Legacy of True Strength

The other day I was in my spring-cleaning groove, jamming along to the new Taylor Swift album when suddenly, I found myself completely moved, crying over the Clorox… “And if I didn’t know better I’d think you were talking to me now If I didn’t know better I’d think you were still around” These lyrics are about Taylor’s grandma, Marjorie, and they resonated with me so deeply. My grandmothers both left this earth over a decade ago, yet that mark of time still feels strange. For those of you who have experienced grief and loss of loved ones, you probably can relate to how the moment of loss can feel like just yesterday or a lifetime ago all in the same minute. […]

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Julie Graham’s Untold Story of Heartbreak, Healing and Hope – 101 This Grit and Grace Life

By Our Grit and Grace Life Videos / HerStory, Purpose

In this gripping and emotional podcast, Grit and Grace Life‘s own Julie Bender (previously Julie Graham), brand ambassador and podcast co-host, talks about the sudden loss of her husband and the difficult season of marriage that preceded it. Now, more than two years later, Julie shares the heartache that accompanied raising her son as a single mom and how she turned to her faith to for strength and encouragement during a time that was anything but stable.

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This Grit and Grace Life Podcast Preview – Episode 96 How to Be a Grace-Filled Friend in Hard Times

By Our Grit and Grace Life Videos / No Category

When we have a friend or family member going through a difficult season, our instinct is to make them feel better, as quickly as we know how. While we want to be available for our loved ones during tough times, they may not want our consolation or advice. Often, these friends want more than words: They want our support, our love and assurance that we’ll be around when they’re ready to open up. In this podcast episode, Darlene and Julie discuss practical ways that we can offer grace and show up during our loved ones’ toughest times.

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This is How My Son's Suicide Rocked My Faith

My Faith Was Rocked by My Son’s Suicide

By Carla Howatt / HerStory, Life & Culture

The world as I knew it ended on July 19, 2015. It was a day that shook my faith and my sanity. I walked into the basement suite in my home. My son was renting the suite from us and I needed to talk to him. I found him lying on his side, in the fetal position. He had a rifle between his legs. He was lying in a puddle. The puddle was black, and it took me a split second for it to sink in that it was blood. I turned on my heels and ran back upstairs, screaming and sobbing for my husband to call 911. The next few hours were a blur of police, emergency personnel, and the coroner’s

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Ask Dr. Zoe – Can I Move on From Child Loss With Motherhood Regrets?

By Dr. Zoe / Ask Dr. Zoe

‘Cray in Carolinas’ Asked: My son died at 21 years and I struggle with memories of times I was not the mom I wished I was at times … how do I erase that tape? Dr. Zoe Answered: Oh, mama, my heart aches for you. Those intrusive thoughts are the worst and it seems that they are never the memories of all the amazing mom moments that you had—only the mistakes and regrets. We all make mistakes and if your son had continued to live, you would have continued to make them. You would have continued to have the great mom moments too! One frustrating part of grieving is the bargaining stage where you are right now (which we can cycle in

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What Your Grieving Friend Really Wants You to Know (video)

By Our Grit and Grace Life Videos / Relationships

Nothing embodies “grit and grace” quite like a grief journey—and this is true whether the person grieving is you or someone you love. Grief brings about a rollercoaster of emotions that vary with each individual. No one grief journey is the same as someone else’s. And because of that, it’s important to be sensitive to someone’s emotions and the memory of the person they lost. This is often difficult, and, if we’re being honest, a bit awkward. Our natural instinct is to reach out and shoulder some of the pain for our friend, to erase some of the sadness that has infiltrated her life. But in doing so, we stumble over our words, offer empty phrases intended to be encouraging, or try

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Now Is the Time to Get Comfortable With Grief

How to Get Comfortable With Your Grief

By Marlys Johnson Lawry / Life & Culture

Dan, a cancer widower, answered my questions as I tapped away on my laptop. I was interviewing him for an article about a shower truck—this really cool ministry for the homeless in our community. He’d had a significant part in designing and converting the truck into two shower rooms, one for men and one for women. And now that it’s functional, he serves as a driver and facilitator of the ministry. After the interview, we lingered over hot beverages, exchanging our common experiences as long-term cancer caregivers. He teared up a couple times during the conversation and seemed almost apologetic. “I’m not normally an emotional guy,” he said as he wiped away grief that was leaking from his eyes. “Just when I

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Battling Depression? Find the Gift in the Darkness With Melissa Maimone – 133

By Smart Living with Grit and Grace / Podcast

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | More Can you find light in the darkness of depression? The surprising answer is “yes,” as gained from the personal experience of Melissa Maimone, author of The Radiant Midnight: Depression, Grace, and the Gifts of a Dark Place. She joins co-hosts Darlene Brock and Julie Graham to share what she learned from the many years she spent battling cycles of depression. There are gifts within slowness, solitude, and even sadness. She relates to those who have felt shame over this misunderstood hopelessness, especially as a Christian. She also offers helpful insight on how to love someone who faces this darkness. As all of us are feeling a

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My Jersey Mom on Life And How to Throw a Punch

My Jersey Mom on How to Throw a Punch (in the Battles of Life)

By Meaghan Dawson / Life & Culture

My mom is a small woman. She’s always been. It’s not so much that she’s short—she’s actually taller than me—but more that she’s always been thin and slight, her bones seemingly the same as a bird’s. But what she lacks in stature, she makes up for in personality. See, my mom is from Jersey. Technically, we all know it’s New Jersey, right? But the truth is, there is a certain cachet to New Jersey that fits only when you say “Jersey.” It’s more fitting to the person, to the aura, than the formal version. And my mom is very Jersey. She’s tough. She’s got a fighter’s spirit. In some ways, it was difficult as a kid. My mom was quick to anger,

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Why Strong Women Can (and Should) Rebuild Their Lives with Molly Stillman – 125

By Smart Living with Grit and Grace / Podcast

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | More Women are so resilient. Even when we face challenges that could potentially take us out entirely, as is the case of our guest Molly Stillman, we tap into our deepest grit. With countless roles and seasons, we are continually reinventing and re-shifting. We give ourselves and others the necessary grace needed to gain strength and wisdom on the other side. Molly faced the death of her mother as a teen, found herself drowning in debilitating debt post-college, was a comedienne, weathered a toxic dating relationship, and then after marrying the true love of her life (and having two healthy kids) experienced the heartbreak of back-to-back pregnancy

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This Is What I’ve Learned 16 Years After My Miscarriage

This Is What I’ve Learned about Grieving My Miscarriage

By Melissa Solle / Life & Culture

17. This summer will mark 17 years ago that we suffered the unimaginable loss of a baby. Over time, the details have gotten somewhat fuzzy, but I do remember the significant physical and emotional hurt and pain of this late miscarriage. We were well into our 2nd trimester (around 17 weeks); friends and family knew we were expecting our third child—it was obvious since I was already showing quite a “baby bump.” I remember going into labor at home but not fully comprehending that that was what was happening to my body. After all, it was much too early for labor, I wasn’t even halfway done with this pregnancy. I remember knowing something was devastatingly wrong. I remember my husband trying to

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TobyMac's Son's Cause of Death Reminds Us That Faith Doesn't Protect Us From Pain

TobyMac’s Son’s Death Reminds Us That Faith Doesn’t Protect Us From Pain

By Darlene Brock / Best Of, Faith

I just read an article that made the cause of TobyMac’s son’s death public. Since his passing I have found myself torn, wondering, “Should the public know or not?” Toby’s career has made his life very public; it’s the nature of the music industry. When I worked with him as his personal manager in the early days, that was the goal. He was supposed to be on the stage sharing his heart and his songs. The way to do it well was to become a recognizable name. When we were young and building the early stages of his music, we didn’t really think life would touch us. At least not in the ways that it has years later. I think we believed

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Ask Dr. Zoe – How Do I Recover From a Life Full of Battles?

By Dr. Zoe / Ask Dr. Zoe

‘Alisandra’ Asked: How do you recover from divorce, breast cancer, loss of a job, and not seeing your child every day? Dr. Zoe Answered: My immediate visual after reading your experience is a warrior woman, still standing in the midst of the haze of battle. You may not visualize yourself in this way, but you are still standing—and you’ve been through a battle! I don’t know all of the circumstances. I’m not sure if you have an adult child or a minor. But loss is loss and the best way to recover from it is to walk through it. When a lot of bad things happen to you, you can get hyper-focused on yourself—and you need to! But it can also lead

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This Is Why We All Need Holiday Traditions

By Amber Koehn / Life & Culture

I love Hallmark Christmas movies. It drives my family crazy, but each year on the last weekend of October, my television is tuned to Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas through the end of the year. And if I am unable to view a premier, I record it to watch later. I have a checklist, a system, so I don’t miss any of the new shows. One of this year’s movies I had to record for later was Two Turtle Doves, a film about continuing treasured holiday traditions in the midst of grief and loss. I’m going to be frank: it hit a little too close to home. Now, initially when volunteering to write about holiday traditions, I was planning on providing a generic

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Ask Dr. Zoe – How Can I Move on After Pregnancy Loss?

By Dr. Zoe / Ask Dr. Zoe

‘Pregnancy Loss’ Asked: I am currently dealing with a pregnancy loss. It is a blighted ovum and my body is just not catching up to what is happening. I am going back to the doctor to make final decisions at the end of the week. The problem is I still have pregnancy symptoms and because I haven’t physically miscarried yet, I just don’t feel like I am truly processing what is happening. To make things more complicated my husband is graduating from police academy (he has been gone for 6.5 months – only home on weekends) next week and then we may go away before he starts at his post the following week. While the distraction is helpful, it prolongs the process

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What I Learned From Making the Hardest Choice with Shannon Barbosa – 110

By Smart Living with Grit and Grace / Podcast

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | TuneIn | RSS | More Hard choices are part of life. Regardless of being strong women, when we are faced with a big decision, many of us just want to take the easiest way out. We try our best to avoid facing the difficulties that come with making the harder choice. Why should we, couldn’t we just take the easy way out? In this episode of This Grit and Grace Life, hosts Darlene and Julie chat with Shannon Barbosa, a friend and writer for The Grit and Grace Project. Through sharing HerStory, Shannon shines light on the miracles that come from making the hardest choice. HerStory is a brand-new category on

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When You Can’t Suppress Your Pain Anymore

By Jodi Shultz / Faith

One sentence. That’s all it took. One sentence bouncing around in my head. Slowly eroding the emotional walls that I had put up. One sentence that annoyed the crap out of me but also brought about freedom. I had no idea how much I had stuffed down, all in a massive effort to “just get over it.” One sentence, that’s all it took for the dam to break loose… “If you mute the pain, you’ll mute the joy.” And just like that, all the pent-up emotions came gushing out. Anger, frustration, grief, anguish… more anger, more grief. It was like this internal storm cloud broke loose with a deluge of release and then after it had unleashed all its fury, the calm

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