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Seasons of Sorrow: The Pain of Loss and the Comfort of God
An honest look at grief and fears, faith and hope. Combining personal narrative, sound theology, and beautiful writing, this is a book for anyone who has loved and lost.
On November 3, 2020, Tim and Aileen Challies received the shocking news that their son Nick had died. A twenty-year-old student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, he had been participating in a school activity with his fiancée, sister, and friends, when he fell unconscious and collapsed to the ground.
Neither students nor a passing doctor nor paramedics were able to revive him. His parents received the news at their home in Toronto and immediately departed for Louisville to be together as a family. While on the plane, Tim, an author and blogger, began to process his loss through writing. In Seasons of Sorrow, Tim shares real-time reflections from the first year of grief—through the seasons from fall to summer—introducing readers to what he describes as the “ministry of sorrow.”
Seasons of Sorrow will benefit both those that are working through sorrow or those comforting others:
• See how God is sovereign over loss and that he is good in loss
• Discover how you can pass through times of grief while keeping your faith
• Learn how biblical doctrine can work itself out even in life’s most difficult situations
• Understand how it is possible to love God more after loss than you loved him before
On November 3, 2020, Tim and Aileen Challies received the shocking news that their son Nick had died. A twenty-year-old student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, he had been participating in a school activity with his fiancée, sister, and friends, when he fell unconscious and collapsed to the ground.
Neither students nor a passing doctor nor paramedics were able to revive him. His parents received the news at their home in Toronto and immediately departed for Louisville to be together as a family. While on the plane, Tim, an author and blogger, began to process his loss through writing. In Seasons of Sorrow, Tim shares real-time reflections from the first year of grief—through the seasons from fall to summer—introducing readers to what he describes as the “ministry of sorrow.”
Seasons of Sorrow will benefit both those that are working through sorrow or those comforting others:
• See how God is sovereign over loss and that he is good in loss
• Discover how you can pass through times of grief while keeping your faith
• Learn how biblical doctrine can work itself out even in life’s most difficult situations
• Understand how it is possible to love God more after loss than you loved him before
224 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2022
251 people are currently reading
1982 people want to read
About the author
Tim Challies
61 books1,565 followersTim Challies is a leading evangelical blogger. A self-employed web designer, Tim lives in the outskirts of Toronto, Ontario with his wife and children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 253 reviews
January 17, 2023
The first book I would give to someone experiencing the sharp pain or lingering ache of grief. Remarkable.
April 13, 2023
A stunning book wrought from both deep grief and certain trust in the resurrection. It is the book I will recommend to those who suffer loss from now on.
December 27, 2023
This is the best book on grief I've ever read.
January 25, 2023
I didn't realize Tim Challies and his family lost his son a few years back and was curious to read his book on suffering. Chiefly, I was interested in reading it because my husband's brother died shortly after we were married at a very young age. We were not in a theologically sound church at the time and it was an added struggle to be met with grief that was not backed with scripture. I was curious to read Challies' take on grief. I appreciated the way he handled the subject, sharing his pain and affirming his faith at the same time.
If you know someone who is suffering from a death of a loved one, this is a worthy read. If you know someone who is grieving ANY sort of death, there'll be beneficial takeaways.
If you know someone who is suffering from a death of a loved one, this is a worthy read. If you know someone who is grieving ANY sort of death, there'll be beneficial takeaways.
October 6, 2022
This book is a powerful reminder of God’s grace and kindness through immense suffering. The writing was very moving, and many tears were shed through the hours I spent reading this book. I am proud to have been able to call Nick my big cousin, and am so very encouraged by his fruitful life and relentless dedication to the Lord. This book has helped me with some of my questions regarding death and suffering, especially the “why” questions, and also encouraged me in how to live gracefully and strongly for His glory amid suffering, something every Christian will face. We all miss Nick very much, and I am grateful God blessed me with sweet memories of us as children. The Challies family is always in my family and I’s prayers; we all anticipate the day we will meet again with Nick, when sorrow and death are no more, and we will all be with our Savior for eternity. Thank you Uncle Tim for writing such a beautiful book chronicling your sorrows, and for undertaking the ministry of sorrow. I pray God will use this book to be an encouragement for many others through their despair, and can be a light to those who need it. May it draw them closer to our good God and restore their hope. May it serve as a reminder that He has not turned His back on us and all things are done for His glory, even though we may never know why He allows this suffering. Much love to the Challies family, and many prayers too.
July 3, 2024
Powerful book written from the ashes of grief. Read this if you have lost someone you are very close to. Read this even if you haven’t. It’s beneficial either way.
June 28, 2023
An absolute treasure every believer should read. And if you or someone you know has known grief in any way, this book is a necessary read.
Though heavy, it lightens the burden of grief by providing a companion in it. Challies’ journal entries give you permission to feel, wrestle, and weep, while pointing you to the eternal joy coming that enables joy now.
I’m profoundly grateful for the humility and vulnerability it took to release this book, a dad’s heart in black and white letters, to the world.
I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Though heavy, it lightens the burden of grief by providing a companion in it. Challies’ journal entries give you permission to feel, wrestle, and weep, while pointing you to the eternal joy coming that enables joy now.
I’m profoundly grateful for the humility and vulnerability it took to release this book, a dad’s heart in black and white letters, to the world.
I cannot recommend it highly enough.
November 12, 2022
An excellent book on grief and suffering, it was encouraging and comforting to my own soul! Challies, through his own experience, shows us how to grieve as believers: with genuine sorrow and emotion, but not without hope. I appreciated how real his sorrow was in the book, and found myself crying with him often, but every chapter also had truth about the Lord that led me to hope rather than despair.
June 1, 2023
read on audiobook, read by author
Quotes:
*God’s goodness does not vary with our circumstances but is fully present and on display in our worst moments as well as our best, in our most lamentable experiences as well as our most joyful.
*To say, “Thy will be done,” is to say, “Thy goodness be shown.” It’s to seek out evidence of God’s goodness even in the hardest of his providences. It’s to worship him, even with a broken heart.
*Ultimately, if there is to be comfort, it will not be grounded in the hope that nothing bad will happen to me or to the people I love, but in the perfect God whose perfect character is displayed in his perfect will.
*I would not summon Nick back to this world if I could, for that would be to rob him of the greatest of all gains and to force him to experience so much loss.
*Nick has not been sent away but merely sent on ahead to that place where death is no more; where mourning, pain, and sorrow are gone; where God has already wiped away every tear; and where my son is now waiting safely and patiently for his father to join him.
On Challies' website he has extra resources: https://www.challies.com/seasons-of-s...
A Letter to Parents: addressed to parents who have lost a child.
Application Questions & Group Study Guide
Helpful Things To Say To Grieving Parents
Quotes:
*God’s goodness does not vary with our circumstances but is fully present and on display in our worst moments as well as our best, in our most lamentable experiences as well as our most joyful.
*To say, “Thy will be done,” is to say, “Thy goodness be shown.” It’s to seek out evidence of God’s goodness even in the hardest of his providences. It’s to worship him, even with a broken heart.
*Ultimately, if there is to be comfort, it will not be grounded in the hope that nothing bad will happen to me or to the people I love, but in the perfect God whose perfect character is displayed in his perfect will.
*I would not summon Nick back to this world if I could, for that would be to rob him of the greatest of all gains and to force him to experience so much loss.
*Nick has not been sent away but merely sent on ahead to that place where death is no more; where mourning, pain, and sorrow are gone; where God has already wiped away every tear; and where my son is now waiting safely and patiently for his father to join him.
On Challies' website he has extra resources: https://www.challies.com/seasons-of-s...
A Letter to Parents: addressed to parents who have lost a child.
Application Questions & Group Study Guide
Helpful Things To Say To Grieving Parents
November 18, 2022
Having welcomed our firstborn son to the world this past spring, I focused a sizable portion of this year's reading list on parenting. In an unexpected and bittersweet way, Seasons of Sorrow has become one of my most cherished books on fatherhood. There's not one time I set this book down with dry eyes. Though I pray to never burden the same loss as Tim in losing his son, I am so thankful for his willingness to share his reflections through the year following. This poignant journal is an exemplar of how to mourn well and glorify God through loss. Seasons of Sorrow serves as a keen reminder of how precious a gift fatherhood is and the joy in the weight of stewarding that gift well.
January 17, 2025
2025: Reread this to walk with friends who have recently lost children in their families. So grateful for Challies’ candor. Grateful to remember his son.
Read it, friends. Read it to better understand your grieving friends, to be strengthened and reminded of hope when you face loss, and to solemnly, yet still more joyfully, walk as a believer in this world. I cried and smiled and now long for heaven even more.
Read it, friends. Read it to better understand your grieving friends, to be strengthened and reminded of hope when you face loss, and to solemnly, yet still more joyfully, walk as a believer in this world. I cried and smiled and now long for heaven even more.
April 8, 2024
Every Christian should read this book, preferably before they suffer a loss, so they might understand the "stewardship of suffering" that Tim Challies speaks of. Highly recommended.
October 1, 2023
Wow. This memoir of Challies' grief journey was so incredibly powerful, it's hard to put into words. Never read anything like it: a season by season walk through of his thoughts, experiences, and searching of Scripture following the death of his only son.
I think I can safely say I cried and worshipped through every single chapter.
I leave this book deeply moved — and motivated to steward well whatever griefs that the Lord places in my life.
Honest and raw, I love how Challies doesn't shy away from expressing strong emotions or asking hard questions. But he always does so with humility, graciousness, and ultimately trust in the Savior.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Highly, highly recommend:
Both the audiobook (with a few bonus chapters that were also excellent) and the book itself
•
•
•
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⚠️CW: Emotionally charged, personal descriptions of the grief of losing a child
He reads the audiobook himself and I found it impossible to listen to without sobbing.
I think I can safely say I cried and worshipped through every single chapter.
I leave this book deeply moved — and motivated to steward well whatever griefs that the Lord places in my life.
Honest and raw, I love how Challies doesn't shy away from expressing strong emotions or asking hard questions. But he always does so with humility, graciousness, and ultimately trust in the Savior.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Highly, highly recommend:
Both the audiobook (with a few bonus chapters that were also excellent) and the book itself
•
•
•
•
⚠️CW: Emotionally charged, personal descriptions of the grief of losing a child
He reads the audiobook himself and I found it impossible to listen to without sobbing.
November 10, 2023
What do you do when in one moment life plunges you into depths of grief you didn't know existed? How do you keep going day after day after day when it feels as though each breath is hard to take? How do you trust in the goodness of God when it looks as though he's abandoned you?
In "Seasons of Sorrow," Tim Challies addresses all these questions and so much more. In 2020, Challies' adult son dropped dead while at college. They had no warning; one moment Nick was alive, and the next he was not. This book are reflections and thoughts that Challies wrote during the first year after his son's death.
This book is raw with emotion but hopeful. Challies captures the depth of pain accurately, and he acknowledges the anger, the fear, the grief that comes while processing such loss and trauma. But he always points back to Christ, to the hope he has as a Christian, and to the assurance of seeing his son one day.
This book isn't only for people who have lost a child to death. This book is for anyone walking through the deepest, darkest valleys life has to offer. This book is for someone who needs a glimmer of hope that the darkness will not last.
In "Seasons of Sorrow," Tim Challies addresses all these questions and so much more. In 2020, Challies' adult son dropped dead while at college. They had no warning; one moment Nick was alive, and the next he was not. This book are reflections and thoughts that Challies wrote during the first year after his son's death.
This book is raw with emotion but hopeful. Challies captures the depth of pain accurately, and he acknowledges the anger, the fear, the grief that comes while processing such loss and trauma. But he always points back to Christ, to the hope he has as a Christian, and to the assurance of seeing his son one day.
This book isn't only for people who have lost a child to death. This book is for anyone walking through the deepest, darkest valleys life has to offer. This book is for someone who needs a glimmer of hope that the darkness will not last.
January 22, 2023
Oooof.
I picked Seasons of Sorrow as my "Book Recommended by the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors" for the G3 2023 Reading Challenge. I have followed Tim Challies' blog, so I was aware of the circumstances surrounding the book (the loss of his 20-year-old son), but I wasn't expecting it to be quite so emotional. After crying through the first couple chapters, I decided it was *not* the book to read while hanging out in the church foyer, waiting for my family to finish serving in kids' ministry.
In many ways, it's similar to CS Lewis's A Grief Observed--not a theological treatise on grief and suffering, but the outpourings of a grief-stricken heart--a journal of sorts of the first year without his son. Challies doesn't downplay the realities of grief and loss, but he keeps his face pointed toward Christ and our hope of heaven. It's a beautiful, compelling read, one I would recommend for any believer who is walking through a season of suffering--though perhaps not one you want to read out in public.
I picked Seasons of Sorrow as my "Book Recommended by the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors" for the G3 2023 Reading Challenge. I have followed Tim Challies' blog, so I was aware of the circumstances surrounding the book (the loss of his 20-year-old son), but I wasn't expecting it to be quite so emotional. After crying through the first couple chapters, I decided it was *not* the book to read while hanging out in the church foyer, waiting for my family to finish serving in kids' ministry.
In many ways, it's similar to CS Lewis's A Grief Observed--not a theological treatise on grief and suffering, but the outpourings of a grief-stricken heart--a journal of sorts of the first year without his son. Challies doesn't downplay the realities of grief and loss, but he keeps his face pointed toward Christ and our hope of heaven. It's a beautiful, compelling read, one I would recommend for any believer who is walking through a season of suffering--though perhaps not one you want to read out in public.
September 22, 2023
This book was excellent. I wasn’t sure what to expect of this book as far as the style. I was pleasantly surprised. It is more of a memoir style book reflecting on his journey with grief after the loss of his son. But the book is full of spiritual reflections on grief, suffering and loss. He is very open and vulnerable in the things he shares but always anchors himself to the truths of scripture and comforts of God.
This book may not be for everyone. It is deeply sad. But if you have lost a close loved one it could be very helpful as his reflections are so relatable and very much things many have experienced and felt. For those who have not lost a close loved one, it could be a good book to read to learn more and relate to someone who has experienced this deep pain.
I love that the book goes through the seasons and covers all the “firsts”. It’s very helpful and easy to read.
This book may not be for everyone. It is deeply sad. But if you have lost a close loved one it could be very helpful as his reflections are so relatable and very much things many have experienced and felt. For those who have not lost a close loved one, it could be a good book to read to learn more and relate to someone who has experienced this deep pain.
I love that the book goes through the seasons and covers all the “firsts”. It’s very helpful and easy to read.
January 1, 2025
I lost track of how many times this little book brought me to tears. A gut-honest compilation of a father’s first year wrestling with grief combined powerfully with a consistent preaching to himself of the truth and hope of scripture. A profound treasure I am grateful Tim Challies shared with the world.
“While God has called me to hear my grief for a lifetime, and to do so faithfully, he has not called me to bear the entire weight of it all at once… The burden of a whole lifetime’s grief would be far too heavy to bear, and the challenge of a whole lifetime’s faithfulness far too daunting to consider. But the God who knows my frailty has broken down that assignment into little parts, little days, and has promised a grace that is sufficient for each one of them. My challenge for today is not to bear the grief of a lifetime or be faithful to the end, but only to carry today’s grief and only to be faithful on this one little day that he has spread out before me.”
“While God has called me to hear my grief for a lifetime, and to do so faithfully, he has not called me to bear the entire weight of it all at once… The burden of a whole lifetime’s grief would be far too heavy to bear, and the challenge of a whole lifetime’s faithfulness far too daunting to consider. But the God who knows my frailty has broken down that assignment into little parts, little days, and has promised a grace that is sufficient for each one of them. My challenge for today is not to bear the grief of a lifetime or be faithful to the end, but only to carry today’s grief and only to be faithful on this one little day that he has spread out before me.”
July 20, 2025
It is a paradox that deep love leaves a person open to deep pain. Those who don't love protect themselves from much of life's pain and those who are blessed with great love are vulnerable to the most agonizing pain. As someone in the midst of that paradox, this book beautifully puts into words so much of what I've experienced and witnessed in the past four months. Tim Challies eloquently expresses the heart wrenching pain that occurs as sudden loss plunges a person into deepest darkness, but he clings to the gospel hope that carries the believer through the valley of the shadow of death. He resolutely fixes his heart, and the hearts of the reader on the shepherd who lays his life down for his sheep so that we can, through the tears, say together "where o death is your victory." As I seek to love others in this broken world, it'll only be a matter of time until this book will be able to come off my bookshelf to provide great comfort to those who and loved and lost.
August 28, 2023
Tim Challies reflects on the loss of his twenty-year-old son Nick and the year of grief that follows in this wise and grounded book. It immediately will become my go-to recommendation for those who are navigating the hard process of grief. Challies is honest and vulnerable, and also biblical and wise. I can't imagine what it would be to lose one of my children (almost 20 and 18). Challies never minimizes the depth of his loss, but presses deep into the unsearchable, but good sovereignty of our Lord. I highly recommend this book to anyone, and especially anyone who has suffered loss.
For more reviews see thebeehive.live.
For more reviews see thebeehive.live.
August 27, 2024
A transparent and raw walk through Tim Challies’ loss of his oldest child and only son. This book is a guide and example of being honest with the Lord with deep grief and running to the One who holds our every tear. Truly made me weep and ache for him all while encouraging my heart as I read how the Lord holds, leads, and keeps his children through some of the darkest valleys.
While we wait, weeping and crying out to him in the sorrows of the world’s brokenness of now, the Lord is with us and reminds us that, one day, we will feast in the house of Zion and weep no more. He will make everything new, and he is our imperishable hope who will resurrect all in Christ.
5/5 🌟
While we wait, weeping and crying out to him in the sorrows of the world’s brokenness of now, the Lord is with us and reminds us that, one day, we will feast in the house of Zion and weep no more. He will make everything new, and he is our imperishable hope who will resurrect all in Christ.
5/5 🌟
December 19, 2024
Very sad little book, but of priceless comfort and loveliness to those who have endured loss.
“To keep one hand on the plow while wiping away tears with the other—this is the essence of living and laboring as a Christian. So I will press on and not look back. I’ve set my glistening eyes to heaven, my eyes to the end of my journey, my eyes to my great reward, and I will move steadily toward it. By God’s grace, I’ll work and I’ll weep until I finally arrive in the place of comfort, the place of rest, the place that is most truly my home.”
“To keep one hand on the plow while wiping away tears with the other—this is the essence of living and laboring as a Christian. So I will press on and not look back. I’ve set my glistening eyes to heaven, my eyes to the end of my journey, my eyes to my great reward, and I will move steadily toward it. By God’s grace, I’ll work and I’ll weep until I finally arrive in the place of comfort, the place of rest, the place that is most truly my home.”
September 25, 2023
A stunning exploration of grief and fatherhood. So thankful that Tim Challies was willing to share these painful reflections on the loss of his 20 year old son in the year following his sudden death. He is understandably heartbroken and yet is full of Christian hope at the same time. A must read.
June 22, 2023
This book saw me through my own seasons of sorrow following the loss of our baby girl. While the circumstances may be different, I would recommend this book to anyone grieving the loss of a close family member. The first days of numbness, the questioning of faith, the first holidays marked by grief, Tim Challies is honest about it all. I’ve went back and read Chapter 38 “I Miss My Son Today” multiple times because it gave me such encouragement on the hard days when I couldn’t imagine feeling this grief for the rest of my life.
“The burden of a whole lifetime’s grief would be far too heavy to bear, and the challenge of a whole lifetime’s faithfulness far too daunting to consider. But the God who knows my frailty has broken down that assignment into little parts, little days, and has promised a grace that is sufficient for each one of them. My challenge for today is not to bear the grief of a lifetime or to be faithful to the end, but only to carry today’s grief and only to be faithful on this one little day that he has spread out before me.”
“The burden of a whole lifetime’s grief would be far too heavy to bear, and the challenge of a whole lifetime’s faithfulness far too daunting to consider. But the God who knows my frailty has broken down that assignment into little parts, little days, and has promised a grace that is sufficient for each one of them. My challenge for today is not to bear the grief of a lifetime or to be faithful to the end, but only to carry today’s grief and only to be faithful on this one little day that he has spread out before me.”
December 5, 2023
Tim Challies journals through a year of sorrow, as he wrestles and reflects on the loss of a son, raw emotions, grief, God, and faith. On November 3, 2020, Nick Challies (son of blogger Tim and Aileen Challies) a twenty-year-old student at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, fell unconscious and collapsed to the ground. He passed on as neither students nor a passing doctor nor paramedics were able to revive him. Beautifully written, thought-provoking, transparent and raw, this memoir is a moving and powerful witness of how Christ sustains and meets us in our deepest anguish, highly recommend it.
"While the steams of joy and sorrow run in parallel, they are not identical. The stream of hoy is more like a gentle brook, while the stream of sorrow is like a raging river. It is sorrow, not joy, that threatens to overwhelm me, pull me in, and drag me under. I've never had to remind myself to temper my joy with my sorrow, but I have often had to remind myself to search for light amid the darkness. And it's in this dichotomy that Charles Spurgeon has proven helpful, for he once preached a sermon on this proverb and pointed out that God has promised his people that joys will always attend their sorrows, for 'the deeper the waters, the higher our ark mounts towards heaven. The darker the night, the more we prize our lamp. We have learned to sing in the dark with the thorn at our breast.'
And so I pressed on, singing in the dark, with the lamp of the Lord illuminating the way. Despite the pain, despite the sorrow, despite the loss, my life goes on. It must go on. I know I won't ever get over it, but I do need to get on with it, for I haven't received an exemption clause that frees me from what God has called me to. I am still father, still a husband, still a pastor, still a friend, still a neighbor. While Nick may have been taken, I have been left. While his race may be complete, mine continues. This loss has scarred me, but it does not define me. Life must still be lived. Songs must still be sung."
"While the steams of joy and sorrow run in parallel, they are not identical. The stream of hoy is more like a gentle brook, while the stream of sorrow is like a raging river. It is sorrow, not joy, that threatens to overwhelm me, pull me in, and drag me under. I've never had to remind myself to temper my joy with my sorrow, but I have often had to remind myself to search for light amid the darkness. And it's in this dichotomy that Charles Spurgeon has proven helpful, for he once preached a sermon on this proverb and pointed out that God has promised his people that joys will always attend their sorrows, for 'the deeper the waters, the higher our ark mounts towards heaven. The darker the night, the more we prize our lamp. We have learned to sing in the dark with the thorn at our breast.'
And so I pressed on, singing in the dark, with the lamp of the Lord illuminating the way. Despite the pain, despite the sorrow, despite the loss, my life goes on. It must go on. I know I won't ever get over it, but I do need to get on with it, for I haven't received an exemption clause that frees me from what God has called me to. I am still father, still a husband, still a pastor, still a friend, still a neighbor. While Nick may have been taken, I have been left. While his race may be complete, mine continues. This loss has scarred me, but it does not define me. Life must still be lived. Songs must still be sung."
October 2, 2023
The content is amazingly fantastic. Light that cuts through the darkness.
I forced myself to take this book very slowly to do my best to capture and hold what is shared. Just about every single paragraph has impacted me.
Written with transparency and honesty, this fellow sojourner, Tim Challies, is an amazing, God-honoring author.
I highly recommend this book to everyone who suffers loss and experiences grief.
I’m not a gifted writer so I’ll never be able to write a review this book deserves.
Simply and ever so directly: This book in written or audio form is a profound, priceless treasure that impacts me now and for eternity.
I forced myself to take this book very slowly to do my best to capture and hold what is shared. Just about every single paragraph has impacted me.
Written with transparency and honesty, this fellow sojourner, Tim Challies, is an amazing, God-honoring author.
I highly recommend this book to everyone who suffers loss and experiences grief.
I’m not a gifted writer so I’ll never be able to write a review this book deserves.
Simply and ever so directly: This book in written or audio form is a profound, priceless treasure that impacts me now and for eternity.
January 5, 2023
I rarely read a book that I think *every* Christian should read, but this is one of the few. Suffering and loss is not just a likelihood for the Christian, but a promise. These reflections on God’s sovereignty in loss, the pain of loss, and the comfort of a savior will both prepare you for the future and soothe the pain of the past. Through lot’s of tears this book can prepare you for one of the most essential ministries of the Christian’s life—the ministry of sorrow.
June 22, 2023
A really hard and really important book for every Christian to read. Have Kleenex nearby because almost every chapter brought me to tears - some of deep sorrow and some of deeply anticipated joy when we finally reach our home in Heaven. If grief has touched you in any way in life, this book will be both comforting and challenging to wrestle with.
November 26, 2022
Such a good book, and so glad to have been reading it over this fall season as we marked 5 years without Jaden. Like UnChong I chose to read it slowly… a couple chapters each day.
February 10, 2023
This book is first and foremost a gift. It is also a devastating account of loss, a courageous act of vulnerability, and most importantly a beautiful testimony of faithfulness.
Read
October 23, 2023Seasons of sorrow
Audiobook/Libby - extended version
“Even though Nick was young, he was ready to die. He had settled the state of his soul”
What is sewn in the season of cold and darkness will reap a harvest in the season of warmth and brightness. … The hope arising in my heart while my son is being sewn into the earth is the hope of the resurrection.
Sleep— a friend to humanity, a relief. And we ultimately long for our “final sleep” in death
As the proverbs says, the heart knows its own sorrow & no one can share in it. it’s not the mind, it’s not the tongue, we can’t express the truest feelings of the soul
Spurgeon says “the deeper the waters the higher the ark mounts toward Heaven… we have learned to sing in the darkness with the thorn at our breast” life goes on you don’t get over it you move on with it
Grief is so different for each person because each relationship is so different “so much sadness in different forms. Ive never been more needed than I am needed right now… should I pray they get over their grief? … I will pray for more than that- verbs on their behalf. “
Grief- response to circumstances and process of deep loss. Pray for acceptance and submission to Gods sovereignty & right to rule his way. Pray they forget, remember, press on. Forget grief as their identity, remember their grief as something the Lord has comforted them in, and press on to continually go through pain. Pray thanksgiving.
Ch 19- “The love remains, but there’s no way to express it” kept crying in this chap.
Sometimes Home is more appealing to see my son than Christ- a grieving father, saved BY God who will work out the details and comfort a hurting soul
- come down from selfish woe, join the saints before you and next to you in sorrow. Long list of saints who lost spouses and children. Humbling how the lord did not make great men, such as John Calvin, a father of many, but fatherless. The Lord works in mysterious ways.
-goes from sharp pain to dull ache overtime
Only people have what is called psychic tears. according to Darwin it is just a evolutionary phenomenon because of our facial expressions but we know it is so much more than that. It is the expression of souls and our sorrow and joy.
When you’re at your best, plan for your worst. This is in regard to sin, but also with sorrow. When there are times of peace plan for war. This is best done by meditating and memorizing God’s character and scripture truths for when your knees are weak.
What can God do to a broken heart? The better question is what can God do to an unbroken heart. A heart must be broken to see its need for the Lord and for his strength to shine through its weakness, he uses broken jars and broken vessels for his glory .
He breaks us to mold us
Im continually humbled by God’s kindness in bringing us into His fellowship, creating us though we would bring more heartache than he had in his perfect Triune relationship. Christ was willfully a man of sorrows, bearing sorrows because of deep love. Likewise, we have deep sorrows because of our deepest loves.
Audiobook/Libby - extended version
“Even though Nick was young, he was ready to die. He had settled the state of his soul”
What is sewn in the season of cold and darkness will reap a harvest in the season of warmth and brightness. … The hope arising in my heart while my son is being sewn into the earth is the hope of the resurrection.
Sleep— a friend to humanity, a relief. And we ultimately long for our “final sleep” in death
As the proverbs says, the heart knows its own sorrow & no one can share in it. it’s not the mind, it’s not the tongue, we can’t express the truest feelings of the soul
Spurgeon says “the deeper the waters the higher the ark mounts toward Heaven… we have learned to sing in the darkness with the thorn at our breast” life goes on you don’t get over it you move on with it
Grief is so different for each person because each relationship is so different “so much sadness in different forms. Ive never been more needed than I am needed right now… should I pray they get over their grief? … I will pray for more than that- verbs on their behalf. “
Grief- response to circumstances and process of deep loss. Pray for acceptance and submission to Gods sovereignty & right to rule his way. Pray they forget, remember, press on. Forget grief as their identity, remember their grief as something the Lord has comforted them in, and press on to continually go through pain. Pray thanksgiving.
Ch 19- “The love remains, but there’s no way to express it” kept crying in this chap.
Sometimes Home is more appealing to see my son than Christ- a grieving father, saved BY God who will work out the details and comfort a hurting soul
- come down from selfish woe, join the saints before you and next to you in sorrow. Long list of saints who lost spouses and children. Humbling how the lord did not make great men, such as John Calvin, a father of many, but fatherless. The Lord works in mysterious ways.
-goes from sharp pain to dull ache overtime
Only people have what is called psychic tears. according to Darwin it is just a evolutionary phenomenon because of our facial expressions but we know it is so much more than that. It is the expression of souls and our sorrow and joy.
When you’re at your best, plan for your worst. This is in regard to sin, but also with sorrow. When there are times of peace plan for war. This is best done by meditating and memorizing God’s character and scripture truths for when your knees are weak.
What can God do to a broken heart? The better question is what can God do to an unbroken heart. A heart must be broken to see its need for the Lord and for his strength to shine through its weakness, he uses broken jars and broken vessels for his glory .
He breaks us to mold us
Im continually humbled by God’s kindness in bringing us into His fellowship, creating us though we would bring more heartache than he had in his perfect Triune relationship. Christ was willfully a man of sorrows, bearing sorrows because of deep love. Likewise, we have deep sorrows because of our deepest loves.
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