Episode 304 - Walking into a New Year After Loss with Davey Blackburn
Dec 28, 2023
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Davey Blackburn, a guest who has experienced loss and trauma, shares his personal journey after losing his wife Amanda and provides practical ways to walk into a new year after loss. The podcast discusses the emotions and challenges faced in healing, emphasizing the importance of holding two truths together. It also explores the power of expressing honest emotions to God, setting a rhythm to navigate through pain, and finding comfort and hope in Psalm 23.
Taking time for personal reflection and journaling can be helpful in the healing process.
It's important to hold both joy and sorrow together and allow yourself to dream and imagine what healing might look like in the upcoming year.
Deep dives
Approaching a New Year After Loss
As the calendar flips over and a new year begins, it can be challenging to know how to approach this new season after experiencing pain, trauma, or loss. It's natural to feel a sense of uncertainty and fear about leaving things behind in the past year. However, it's important to honor and recognize the pain and acknowledge the emotions associated with it. Taking time for personal reflection and journaling can be helpful in the healing process. Lamenting and pouring out your pain to God is a powerful way to find comfort and hope. It's also essential to focus on the things within your control and take proactive steps towards healing. This could include seeking counseling, investing in physical health and well-being, and finding supportive community. Remember that healing takes time, and it's important to trust in God's faithfulness and His redemptive plan for your life.
Choosing to Look Forward with Hope
Stepping into a new year after experiencing loss can be daunting, but it's essential to recognize that your story is not over yet. While it's natural to mourn and grieve what has been lost, it's important to hold onto hope and trust in God's faithfulness. It's not about forgetting the past or the pain, but rather remembering how God has brought you through difficult times before and trusting that He will continue to do so in the future. Instead of being binary thinkers, holding onto sorrow or hope, it's crucial to hold both joy and sorrow together. Allow yourself to dream and imagine what healing might look like in the upcoming year. Write down your prayers and desires, knowing that God is working behind the scenes and will bring about goodness and redemption.
Finding Agency and Taking Steps Towards Healing
While there may be many things out of your control, there are still choices you can make to move towards healing and growth. Taking care of your physical body through activities like exercise, yoga, or meditation can help release trauma stored in your body. Seeking supportive community and finding safe spaces to share your pain and journey can provide immense comfort and understanding. It's important to honor and attend to your pain, allowing yourself to feel and express your emotions. Engaging in lament, expressing your deepest feelings and questions to God, can bring solace and connection with His compassion. Remember to have agency, focusing on the things you can do to bring healing, whether that's seeking professional help, accessing resources, or making intentional choices to trust God and take steps forward. By embracing agency, you can choose hope and take active steps towards healing.
Praying Psalm 23 for Comfort and Guidance
As you navigate the challenges of a new year after loss, turn to the words of Psalm 23 for comfort and guidance. This powerful passage reminds us that God is our shepherd, providing for our needs and leading us on the right path. Even in the darkest valleys, we can find comfort knowing that God is with us, comforting us with His presence. He prepares a table for us and anoints us, overflowing our cups with His goodness and love. His faithfulness and love will follow us all the days of our lives, and we can dwell in His house forever. Take time to meditate on these words and allow them to bring peace and assurance as you navigate the challenges of the new year.
How do we enter a new year after a loss or trauma? What do we do when it feels like that flip of the calendar means leaving something we held so dear in the past?
The truth is with every new milestone, including a new year, our pain can seem to be amplified by the memories of what we've lost. It can be hard to enter a new season knowing that parts of ourselves, people we love and our lives as we once knew them are in the year we are leaving behind. How do we even begin to navigate a beginning after such a tremendously painful ending?
In this episode, Davey spends some time answering the question of what it looks like to walk into a new year after loss, trauma, tragedy or pain. He shares his own personal journey after losing his wife Amanda and how we can still have agency in our lives when it seems like we have no control over anything in our lives.
If you're stepping into this new year with a sense that something so precious is remaining in the past one, this conversation will encourage you with practical ways that you can keep walking forward towards hope and healing.
Want to access all that Nothing is Wasted has to offer to help you in your healing journey? Join Community Plus and get resources like our masterclasses, Curated Pathways, and more for just $20/month. www.nothingiswasted.com/communityplus
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Want to find out how you too can remove the debris of crisis in your life and move forward with a renewed sense of victory and purpose? Learn more about the Pain to Purpose course at: www.course.nothingiswasted.com
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