Men in the Arena - Christian Men's Podcast Navigating through grief w/Joe Myall EP 370
Joe Myall has been married three times and has four biological children, 3 sons and 1 daughter, as well as two stepsons. He has 13 grandchildren, with number 14 due in November. Joe’s first marriage ended in divorce in 1989 after 19 years for a multitude of reasons, most of which can be boiled down to one statement- “He was not the man God wanted him to be.” Joe married Robyn in 1990. Although he had made an intellectual decision to accept Christ as Savior in 1968, it was 1998 before Joe truly had a conversion experience. That fall, Joe decided he was tired of having to always be right, being judgmental of others and he turned his life over to God. In 2002, Joe was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, went through chemotherapy and is now 17 years post-chemo.
In 2006, Joe and Robyn “retired” and moved 1000 miles from the Central Coast area of California, about mid-way between LA and SF, to western Washington across the Puget Sound from Seattle. Robyn had worked as a psychiatric RN and Joe had been in law enforcement. Eventually, Robyn went to work part time for the local mental health agency and Joe worked with the county drug court program for a few years.
Between 2006 and early 2019, Joe was involved in several ministries in his church and his community, including working with the youth pastors, men’s ministry and as a chaplain with the local fire district.
In the Spring of 2015, Robyn became ill and was diagnosed with stage-4 metastatic cancer of unknown origin, with a prognosis of 2-3 months to live. Robyn declined any diagnostic tests or treatment, opting for quality over quantity of life. God gave Joe and Robyn 2.5 more years together, before she began experiencing extreme pain in August of 2017. In September, Robyn was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Lymphoma with weeks to live. She passed away at home with Joe, her sons and a daughter in-law by her side.
Boots on the Ground
Sit down with your wife face to face. Look her in the eye and tell her you love her. And share with her why you are thankful for her.
Grief Share- 13 week programmed study
Experiencing Grief by Norm Wright
Shattered Dreams by Larry Crab