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Your Hope-Filled Perspective with Dr. Michelle Bengtson podcast


Sep 7, 2023

Episode Summary:

In the past month or so, we’ve been focused on conversations around the types of pain that I wrote about in The Hem of His Garment: Reaching Out to God When Pain Overwhelms. No conversation regarding the pain we experience in this life is complete without a discussion about grief and loss. Susan Duke and I talk about recovery from grief. Susan shares how she learned to grieve forward by taking small, practical steps to face and process her grief, while refusing to allow loss to keep her from embracing life. God does heal and restore. There is life and purpose beyond loss.

 

Quotables from the episode:

  • Grieving forward gives us the permission to continue living life while grieving.
  • In grief, you never get to the point in grief that you fully arrive, but you move forward.
  • You can grieve and embrace life simultaneously.
  • You don’t ever truly get over grief—you get through it with God’s help.
  • We are not human beings living in a spiritual world, we are spiritual beings living in a human world.
  • Love is the invisible bridge between heaven and earth.

 

Scripture References:

  • Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
  • Revelation 21:4 “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Recommended Resources: 

 

Social Media Links for Guest and Host:

Connect with Susan Duke:

Instagram / Facebook / Facebook Group

For more hope, stay connected with Dr. Bengtson at:

Order Book Breaking Anxiety’s Grip / Order Book Hope Prevails  /  Website  /  Blog  /  Facebook / Twitter (@DrMBengtson)  /  LinkedIn  /  Instagram Pinterest / YouTube

Guest:

When Susan Duke’s teenage son was tragically killed, she found herself staggering through the painfully dark and unfamiliar valley of grief. As she faced the most profound challenge of her life, there were moments Susan questioned everything she’d ever believed—even her faith. 
 
Through enormous struggle and determination, Susan eventually found the pathway out of the “valley of the shadow” of grief.  By GRIEVING FORWARD —taking small, practical steps to face and process her grief, and by refusing to allow loss to keep her from embracing life—Susan experienced God’s healing and restoration. As a survivor of unspeakable grief, her life is the evidence that there is life and purpose beyond loss. 
 
In this deeply personal and compassionate guide, Susan candidly shares the insights she’s learned on her journey toward healing.  “It’s hard to see God’s perspective when your heart has been plowed by pain,” she writes. “But broken fields are where seeds of hope grow best.” Though she still copes with loss, Susan also lives with incredible joy. To all who grieve desperately, she assures: Hope is alive. Healing will triumph. Here’s how.

 

Hosted By: Dr. Michelle Bengtson
Audio Technical Support: Bryce Bengtson