We're releasing a series of episodes centered around the Season of Advent. In this episode, Chelsea sits down with Lindsey Jackson by reflecting on Hope — not as wishful thinking, but as a firm trust in God's promises amid suffering. Lindsey shares the story of losing her infant daughter Hadley in 2017 to sudden unexplained infant death (SUID) and how her grief became a place where God reoriented her faith, built deeper endurance, and reshaped her understanding of biblical hope. Together, they discuss how lament differs from grief, why holidays can be hard, and how the church can show up for those in pain.
In This Episode
01:00 – Introducing the Advent series: Hope, Joy, Love, Peace
03:00 – Lindsey’s story: marriage, motherhood, and baby Hadley
05:00 – Hadley’s death and the immediate aftermath
07:00 – “So much of me died when she died” — grief and resurrection
10:00 – What helped: letters, meals, naps, presence
12:00 – On studying grief and counseling at DTS
14:00 – Hope and the discipline of remembering
17:00 – Hebrews: endurance, lament, and anchoring in Christ
20:00 – Longing in Advent: slow down, find wonder again
24:00 – Misplaced hope vs. rooted hope
27:00 – Lament is not passive grief — it holds expectation
30:00 – Heaven: the promise of restoration
33:00 – “Pre-Hadley” Lindsay vs. post-suffering hope
36:00 – Endurance is a group project
Key Takeaways
- Hope is not optimism or emotional positivity — it's a discipline to root your mind in God's promises.
- Grief is the response to loss; lament is grief directed toward God, filled with trust and expectancy.
- Holidays can amplify sorrow — presence, not perfection, is what grieving people need most.
- Studying grief deepened Lindsey’s calling: to walk with others through loss as a biblical counselor.
- The resurrection reframes our pain — we grieve, but not without hope.
- Advent means coming — Christ came once, and He is coming again. This fuels our hope.
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