Author: Dawn

We went to Texas Roadhouse today. It’s a place we’ve continued to visit fairly often since Joshua died just over seven months ago. We went when he was still alive and working there, proudly wearing his title of kitchen manager. Even during a busy shift, he would find a moment to come to our table,…

It’s no longer my goal to be anyone’s go-to. My only goal now is to make God mine. For so long, I made a habit of being available, answering every call, holding space for everyone else’s hurt, putting my own soul on the shelf just to keep others steady. I gave from wells that were…

Church can be full of greeters and small group leaders. Full of smiling faces and sermon notes and “let me know if you need anything” conversations in the hallway. But when life shatters, when grief punches a hole through your world and nothing makes sense anymore, it gets real quiet. And not the kind of…

Grief takes up space. Not just in your heart but in your mind, your body, and your day-to-day functioning. When someone you love dies, especially in a traumatic or complicated way, that grief doesn’t gently slip into your life. It barges in with weight and presence, rearranging everything you thought you could carry. Imagine your…

Someone recently shared with me this concept of a grief garden…a deeply personal, sacred space we each carry inside. It’s a place where our sorrow blooms and wilts, where memories are planted like seeds, and where the seasons of grief pass through in their own unpredictable rhythm. This friend explained that we are each the…

I didn’t even realize what today was. That sounds impossible, I know. But the pain meds, the pain itself, the long stretch of aching days that blur one into the next—they’ve made time slippery. I’ve had terrible back pain for days now, and this morning I woke up feeling off, both physically and emotionally. I…

Father’s Day is often seen as a time of celebration, a day to lift up the men who have loved, guided, and protected their families. But for some it also brings a deep ache, a reminder of what they’ve lost, what they carry, and the love that still lives on through grief. I know for…

Some moments just break me wide open. I wish I could say I’ve learned to live with the ache. That I’ve figured out how to carry this grief and still move through life with some kind of peace. But the truth is—I’m still figuring that out. Still trying to understand how to breathe around the…

The other day, a friend called. She didn’t have any magic words or inspirational quotes. She didn’t offer advice or try to patch up what can’t be fixed. She just said, “I love you. I think about you all the time. I probably don’t say it enough—probably because I don’t know what to say. But…

Mother’s Day is complicated now. This morning, my 9-year-old charged into my room, proud and determined, insisting I stay in bed so he and one of his older brothers could “make me breakfast.” What followed was a carefully crafted plate of microwaved frozen pancakes and a steaming cup of coffee—served with love, pride, and so…