While We're Waiting® - Hope After Child Loss
This is a podcast FOR bereaved parents BY bereaved parents. Join your host, Jill Sullivan, as she talks with parents who have lost children of all ages to all types of circumstances. This is a podcast of stories ... stories of devastating loss and grief and heartbreak and struggle ... and stories of hope and healing and faith, and yes, even joy. Underlying every conversation will be the hope we have in Jesus Christ, which makes it possible to not just survive the loss of a child, but to live well while we're waiting to see them again in Heaven one day. Visit our website at www.WhileWereWaiting.org for more information about our nonprofit ministry to bereaved parents.
While We're Waiting® - Hope After Child Loss
309 | Tattered Hearts, Hopeful Souls (Part Two) with Leanne Davidson
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
"God just kept putting joy in front of me and encouraging me to open my heart to it."
In this second half of my conversation with author Leanne Davidson, we move into some of the deeper questions grieving parents often wrestle with after child loss: Why? What if? Could I have done something differently? Will I ever feel joy again?
After losing her son, Mikael, to a fentanyl overdose, Leanne has walked through those questions herself. With honesty and faith, she shares what she's learning about trusting God in the midst of unanswered questions, laying down guilt, and allowing joy back into a heart that has been forever changed.
Leanne also offers practical and compassionate wisdom for families and friends who want to support grieving parents well.
Together we discuss:
• Reconciling faith with unanswered questions
• Why choosing trust matters when we don't understand
• Guilt after child loss — especially after addiction-related loss
• The difference between conviction and guilt
• Navigating grief within families when everyone grieves differently
• Giving one another grace and changing expectations after loss
• What to do when you don't have the strength to pray or open your Bible
• The difference between happiness and lasting joy
• Leanne's idea of "joy bombs" and recognizing God's gifts in everyday moments
• Practical ways to support grieving parents
• How grief changes us and why there is no returning to "normal"
• The hope of heaven and seeing our children again
Throughout our conversation, Leanne continually points us back to God's faithfulness and His tender care for grieving parents. Her reminders are simple but powerful: God sees us, carries us, and remains near even when our hearts feel permanently changed.
Resources & Links:
- Listen to the first half of our conversation HERE.
- Visit Leanne Davidson's website HERE.
- A Beautiful Pain: Reflections of a Mother’s Journey of Grief
- Tattered Hearts & Hopeful Souls: A Christian Devotional for Grieving Hearts
** IMPORTANT** - All views expressed by guests on this podcast are theirs alone, and may not represent the Statement of Faith and Statement of Beliefs of the While We're Waiting ministry.
We'd love for you to connect with us here at While We're Waiting!
Click HERE to visit our website and learn about our free While We're Waiting Weekends for bereaved parents
Click HERE to learn more about our network of While We're Waiting support groups all across the country.
Click HERE to subscribe to our YouTube channel
Click HERE to follow our public Facebook page
Click HERE to follow us on Instagram
Click HERE to follow us on Twitter
Click HERE to make a tax-deductible donation to the While We're Waiting ministry
Contact Jill by email at: jill@whilewerewaiting.org
