Welcome to week 1 of our Summer of Stories series! For the next 10 weeks, you will hear one powerful story after another. We are featuring 10 stories of incredible moms that have endured significant challenges. Through these stories, we pray you will remember that God is faithful and always with you through life’s most challenging moments. Today’s guest is my dear friend, Joy Phenix, who bravely shares her journey of losing her amazing son. Her story of loss and indescribable grief is so very hard to hear but oddly peaceful and sacred.  My favorite part is when she encourages us to be a student of others’ grief journey. Every single person grieves at different times and in different ways. We cannot judge our friends or family members on that journey. This takes patience and grace and understanding.  This episode is for anyone walking in grief - not just the loss of a child. All of us have seasons of tragedy and unthinkable hard times. We want to know how to trust God again and how to move forward in the midst of the pain. Joy will touch your heart in a profound way. I am deeply thankful for her willingness to share her story to help others.  In this episode we chat about:  How to endure the indescribable journey of losing a childHow we can help and support friends in their grief How to remember each person grieves differently and at unique timesHow to normalize talking about grief through the process  00:00 Introduction and Catching Up 09:16 The Power of Community in Times of Loss 15:30 Finding Hope and Healing Through Faith 28:25 Cherishing Memories and Finding Healing 34:38 Vulnerability and Trust in Difficult Times Enjoy! Connect with Pardon The Mess: Christian Parenting Pardon The Mess  Courtney DeFeo Resources from today’s show: Josh’s Celebration Service Joy’s Instagram Body Keeps The Score Our Sponsors: * Check out Seed and use my code 25MESS for a great deal: seed.com Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy