Hope After Child & Sibling Loss/the empty chair endeavor

When “The Knock” Comes with Diane Grotberg, David’s Mom

A midnight knock can split your life in two. Diane Grotberg remembers the moment two sheriff’s deputies told her their 19-year-old son, David, was dead, and how the first thing she felt was that everything had changed forever. David was a Baylor University sophomore, a gifted musician and friend, and a young man whose faith and compassion had already shaped people far beyond his hometown in Minnesota. We walk through the hard truth of the hit-and-run that killed him and the long, grinding wait for justice, including the reality of delay, denial, and a trial that didn’t arrive until years later. Diane also shares what grief looks like when you still have kids at home, schedules to keep, and a mind that feels like it’s turned to fog. If you’ve experienced child loss, traumatic grief, or you love someone who has, you’ll recognize the private sobbing behind public “strength,” and the exhaustion that comes when the shock wears off. We also talk candidly about support and faith: what helped, what hurt, and why silence from church communities can feel like a second wound. Diane contrasts that with the people who showed up, including the Baylor community that honored David’s life, stayed connected, and made space for stories. You’ll hear simple, practical guidance for helping bereaved parents, plus grief resources like “Lament For A Son” and the search for hope that points beyond tragedy. If this conversation matters to you, please share it with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more grieving families can find real support. Share any comments here [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2087691/fan_mail/new] *** Please take a minute to leave a review on Apple Podcasts if you enjoy this podcast by clicking the link below. By doing so you help increase our visibility and discoverability for others, and we value your feedback! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hope-after-child-sibling-loss-the-empty-chair-endeavor/id1654053256 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hope-after-child-sibling-loss-the-empty-chair-endeavor/id1654053256] You can contact us by email at: hope@emptychairendeavor.com [hope@emptychairendeavor.com] through our parent organization website: https://www.emptychairendeavor.com/ [https://www.emptychairendeavor.com/] Our Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theemptychairendeavor [https://www.facebook.com/groups/theemptychairendeavor] If you would like to share your story on an upcoming episode, please send us an email so that we can talk with you about it. Thank you for listening!

When Your Darkest Loss Becomes Your Ministry, with Samantha Watson

Miscarriage can shatter your world in minutes, and sometimes it happens in a place you never expected. I sit down with Samantha Watson, a military wife and mom, as she tells the story of her 2015 pregnancy loss while stationed far from family and still building community. She shares the moment joy turned to grief, the trauma surrounding the miscarriage, and the faith in Jesus Christ that held her up when she had no strength left. We also talk about the part people rarely prepare you for: how others respond. Some want to help but freeze because they do not know what to say, while others unintentionally minimize early pregnancy loss. Samantha and I unpack why miscarriage grief is real, what “grief brain” feels like, and why “text me if you need anything” can be impossible for a grieving parent. You will hear practical ways to support someone after child loss, including simple acts like meals, childcare, and steady presence. Samantha explains the worship and Scripture habits that helped her survive those early days, including listening to the Bible when reading felt overwhelming. She also shares how she talked with her children about the loss using John 10:10, and how God later redeemed her pain into purpose. That purpose includes her new podcast, Simple Devotions for Children, created to help Christian moms and families build faith at home with easy, engaging devotionals. If this conversation helps you, share it with a friend who needs hope, and leave a rating or review so more grieving parents and supporters can find it. Share any comments here [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2087691/fan_mail/new] *** Please take a minute to leave a review on Apple Podcasts if you enjoy this podcast by clicking the link below. By doing so you help increase our visibility and discoverability for others, and we value your feedback! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hope-after-child-sibling-loss-the-empty-chair-endeavor/id1654053256 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hope-after-child-sibling-loss-the-empty-chair-endeavor/id1654053256] You can contact us by email at: hope@emptychairendeavor.com [hope@emptychairendeavor.com] through our parent organization website: https://www.emptychairendeavor.com/ [https://www.emptychairendeavor.com/] Our Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theemptychairendeavor [https://www.facebook.com/groups/theemptychairendeavor] If you would like to share your story on an upcoming episode, please send us an email so that we can talk with you about it. Thank you for listening!

Navigating Life After Suicide with Melissa & Todd Shaffer, Tristan’s Parents

A teen can look like he is just “being a teenager” while he is privately fighting for his life. We talk with Todd and Melissa Shaffer about the loss of their 18-year-old son, Tristan, to suicide after a long, confusing road that included isolation, anger, depression, and warning signs nobody around them could clearly name. Their story is honest about what it feels like to miss what you did not know how to see, and what happens to a family when clinical depression and suicide risk finally break into the open. We also dig into the complicated realities behind mental health diagnoses, including how OCD can fixate on a person, how bipolar symptoms can be overlooked, and why emergency rooms and short evaluations often fail families in crisis. From antidepressant warnings to the stigma that still lingers in our culture, we discuss the tension many Christian families feel between “spiritual bandaid”  advice and the need for counseling, specialists, and wise medical care. If you care about teen mental health, suicide prevention, or supporting bereaved parents, this conversation offers language and perspective you can carry into real life. Most of all, we talk about the grief journey after suicide loss and what actually helps: finding other parents who understand, living one day at a time, and learning to pray again when words disappear. Todd and Melissa share how Scripture, journaling, and the often-neglected practice of lament became lifelines, and how they now serve others through ministries like Christian Suicide Loss and Surviving Child Loss while building Sparrow Falls Ministry. Tune in for more conversations like this, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review with one thing you want the church to understand about mental health and grief. https://sparrowfalls.org/podcast/ [https://sparrowfalls.org/podcast/] Share any comments here [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2087691/fan_mail/new] *** Please take a minute to leave a review on Apple Podcasts if you enjoy this podcast by clicking the link below. By doing so you help increase our visibility and discoverability for others, and we value your feedback! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hope-after-child-sibling-loss-the-empty-chair-endeavor/id1654053256 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hope-after-child-sibling-loss-the-empty-chair-endeavor/id1654053256] You can contact us by email at: hope@emptychairendeavor.com [hope@emptychairendeavor.com] through our parent organization website: https://www.emptychairendeavor.com/ [https://www.emptychairendeavor.com/] Our Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theemptychairendeavor [https://www.facebook.com/groups/theemptychairendeavor] If you would like to share your story on an upcoming episode, please send us an email so that we can talk with you about it. Thank you for listening!

A Mother’s Story Of Grief, Depression, and Hope After Her Son’s Suicide with Anne Starke, David’s Mom

A suicide can leave a family with a thousand questions and zero satisfying answers. I sat down with Anne Starke, a nurse, wife, and mom, to talk about the day her 16-year-old son, David, died by suicide and what it’s like to live with the shock of finding your child and realizing there is nothing you can do to undo it. Ann shares the subtle changes she noticed in David over time and why teen depression can be impossible to “logic away,” even when a kid is loved, talented, and surrounded by friends. We talk honestly about suicide loss grief, the guilt that follows, and how exposure to another suicide can affect a young person who is already struggling. We also discuss the social fallout many families experience, when friends avoid you at church or in the grocery store because they don’t know what to say. The story doesn’t skip the darkest parts: Anne’s shattered faith, anger at God, and the moment her husband had to step in because she didn’t know if she could survive. We get practical about mental health support, including therapy, trauma work, and antidepressants like Prozac, not as a “fix,” but as a tool that can steady you enough to keep breathing and keep going. Anne also explains why community with other suicide loss survivors matters so much, how prolonged grief can feel like being stuck, and how purpose slowly returned through starting Hearts of Hope and serving other grieving parents. You’ll also hear how GOD patiently and compassionately restored Anne’s faith and helped her embrace joy again. If you’re walking through child loss, suicide bereavement, or supporting someone who is, this conversation offers real language, real hope, and permission to be honest. Share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more grieving families can find these stories when they feel most alone. Share any comments here [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2087691/fan_mail/new] *** Please take a minute to leave a review on Apple Podcasts if you enjoy this podcast by clicking the link below. By doing so you help increase our visibility and discoverability for others, and we value your feedback! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hope-after-child-sibling-loss-the-empty-chair-endeavor/id1654053256 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hope-after-child-sibling-loss-the-empty-chair-endeavor/id1654053256] You can contact us by email at: hope@emptychairendeavor.com [hope@emptychairendeavor.com] through our parent organization website: https://www.emptychairendeavor.com/ [https://www.emptychairendeavor.com/] Our Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theemptychairendeavor [https://www.facebook.com/groups/theemptychairendeavor] If you would like to share your story on an upcoming episode, please send us an email so that we can talk with you about it. Thank you for listening!

Contagious Hope with Billy & Julie Melton, Juliana’s parents

The phone call changes everything. One minute you’re living a normal week, and the next you’re racing toward tests, scans, and words like “concerning” and “brain tumor.” I’m joined by Billy and Julie Melton to remember their daughter Juliana, a newlywed with a contagious laugh, a love for people, and a faith that stayed steady through a long, painful 16-month cancer fight that ended on Valentine’s Day 2018. We talk about what happens after adult child loss, when the world keeps moving but your time feels stuck. Billy and Julie describe the raw first year, the heavier second year when reality sets in, and the very real experience of grief triggers at church, at work, and in everyday places. We also dig into what actually helps grieving parents: community that shows up with practical care, the freedom to set boundaries without guilt, and the courage to let someone else hold you up when your faith and energy run thin. They share how hospice support, counseling, grief groups, and time with other bereaved parents helped them heal, and why surviving siblings need attention too. We also explore the hunger many Christians feel to understand heaven more clearly when someone you love is there. Finally, Billy and Julie explain how God redeemed their suffering into Restoring Hope, a Greensboro-area ministry offering biblical hope and a safe space for bereaved parents facing adult child loss. If this conversation helps you, share it with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review so more grieving families can find it. What’s one practical act of support that mattered most to you or someone you love? Share any comments here [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2087691/fan_mail/new] *** Please take a minute to leave a review on Apple Podcasts if you enjoy this podcast by clicking the link below. By doing so you help increase our visibility and discoverability for others, and we value your feedback! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hope-after-child-sibling-loss-the-empty-chair-endeavor/id1654053256 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hope-after-child-sibling-loss-the-empty-chair-endeavor/id1654053256] You can contact us by email at: hope@emptychairendeavor.com [hope@emptychairendeavor.com] through our parent organization website: https://www.emptychairendeavor.com/ [https://www.emptychairendeavor.com/] Our Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theemptychairendeavor [https://www.facebook.com/groups/theemptychairendeavor] If you would like to share your story on an upcoming episode, please send us an email so that we can talk with you about it. Thank you for listening!