『Hope After Child & Sibling Loss/the empty chair endeavor』のカバーアート

Hope After Child & Sibling Loss/the empty chair endeavor

Hope After Child & Sibling Loss/the empty chair endeavor

著者： Greg Buffkin/Trauma Recovery & Healing Journey Host
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This is where grief is allowed to be honest and transparent, faith is allowed to wrestle with hard questions, and hope doesn't mean forgetting after the unthinkable loss of a child or sibling, from a Christ centered perspective. Our conversations are real and often raw as we talk about what happens to faith, family, identity and purpose when the empty chair becomes permanent … and how GOD can meet us there.

When someone we love dies, life changes forever. Faith can become complicated. Questions about GOD can become unavoidable, joy can feel disloyal, and the empty chair at the table remains painfully real.

This podcast doesn't offer easy answers or ask you to "move on." Instead we walk together through the hard questions of grief -- anger, doubt, faith, marriage, family, surviving siblings, holidays, anniversaries, and what it means to build a life you never imagined living.

Through personal stories and conversations with bereaved parents and siblings, as well as honest reflections about GOD and scripture, we explore what it means to grieve deeply while still holding on to hope.

Because hope doesn't forget the empty chair!

Hope After Child & Sibling Loss is part of the Empty Chair Endeavor - a place where grief is welcomed, faith is allowed to wrestle with difficult questions, and those who have lost someone they love can discover that they are not alone.

The host, Greg Buffkin, brings his personal experience with grief into this role, after he and his wife Cathy experienced the devastating loss of their 26 year old son Ryan to suicide in October 2015.

DISCLAIMER: The views, beliefs, and opinions expressed by our guests may not necessarily be shared by this podcast or its host. We believe there is only one triune GOD: the Father, His son Jesus Christ, and His Holy Spirit. We believe that

Jesus humbled himself to become fully human, conceived by the virgin Mary through the Holy Spirit, retained his divine character and identity, lived a sinless life, executed on a Roman cross as an atonement for the sinfulness of mankind, buried, and raised back to life three days later to offer the hope of eternal life to all who would receive his free gift by grace through faith. Jesus tells us in John 14:6 "I am the way and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."


* Reaching over 100 countries with messages of hope.

© 2026 Hope After Child & Sibling Loss/the empty chair endeavor キリスト教 スピリチュアリティ 心理学 心理学・心の健康 聖職・福音主義 衛生・健康的な生活
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  • “I Still Believe” with Janette Henning, Melissa Camp’s Mom

    “I Still Believe” with Janette Henning, Melissa Camp’s Mom
    2026/09/01

    A 21-year-old newlywed. Ovarian cancer. A mother watching the unthinkable unfold while trying to keep breathing. I’m joined by Jeanette Henning as she tells the story of her daughter, Melissa Camp, who died in February 2001 just three months after marrying Christian music artist Jeremy Camp. The details are tender and raw: the surprises in the hospital, the moments that felt like miracles, and the shock of realizing that even when you’re praying hard for healing, the outcome can still break your heart.

    We talk honestly about what grief does after child loss, not just emotionally, but physically and relationally. Jeanette shares how different family members grieve in different ways, why that can feel isolating, and what she learned when she stopped expecting her husband or her kids to fill the void. If you’re a bereaved parent searching for Christian grief support, we spend real time on lament, the freedom to bring anger and questions to God, and the slow work of learning how sorrow and joy can coexist over decades.

    Jeanette also explains how Melissa’s journals became a lifeline and later a message for the world through the book Melissa: If One Life, plus a devotional journal focused on intimacy with God. We connect that legacy to the film I Still Believe and the ripple effect that continues as people write in to say, “I’m the one life.” If you need hope after tragedy, or you’re trying to understand faith in suffering, this conversation offers a steady place to land. Please share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review with the line that hit you hardest. To learn more about Janette, Melissa’s story, and Umbrella Ministries, click the links below.

    *** https://www.janettehenning.com/about

    *** https://www.umbrellaministries.com/

    Share any comments here


    *** If you have an Apple account, 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

    **** You can also opt to leave a review or rating on Podchasers by clicking the link below. Your opinions matter and mean so much to us!

    https://www.podchaser.com/HopeAfterChildSiblingLossTheEmptyChairEndeavor


    You can contact us by email at: hope@emptychairendeavor.com
    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!
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    58 分
  • Grace in the Wilderness of Grief with Sharon Hawkins, Bradley’s Mom

    Grace in the Wilderness of Grief with Sharon Hawkins, Bradley’s Mom
    2026/08/18

    One minute you’re talking in the driveway, and the next minute your whole life splits into before and after. Sharon Hawkins joins us to tell the story of her son Bradley, a larger-than-life 21-year-old with a contagious laugh, an Eagle Scout’s grit, and a heart that kept pulling toward home. She also shares the moment that still feels unreal: Bradley’s sudden death after a skateboarding fall, and the blessing of a sweet visit just hours before.

    Bradley’s story starts even earlier, in Kharkov, Ukraine, where Sharon and her husband Scott adopted him from an orphanage in 2001. We talk candidly about international adoption, early neglect, attachment and bonding struggles, and his diagnosis of reactive attachment disorder. Sharon explains what those years are really like inside a family, how faith and steady mentors kept showing up, and why she holds tight to the hope that Bradley belongs to Jesus.

    We also get practical for bereaved parents and anyone who wants to support them: why “being present” matters more than advice, what to say when you don’t have words, and ways to carry memory forward through letters, photos, recordings, keepsakes, fundraisers, and traditions. Sharon shares her ongoing ministry, Grace in the Wilderness, plus her podcast Finding Grace in the Wilderness, built around Isaiah 43:19 and the promise that God makes a way in the wilderness.

    If this conversation helps you, please subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more grieving families can find real hope and support.

    https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finding-grace-in-the-wilderness/id1755067020

    http://www.wildernessgrace.org/

    Share any comments here


    *** If you have an Apple account, 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

    **** You can also opt to leave a review or rating on Podchasers by clicking the link below. Your opinions matter and mean so much to us!

    https://www.podchaser.com/HopeAfterChildSiblingLossTheEmptyChairEndeavor


    You can contact us by email at: hope@emptychairendeavor.com
    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!
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    56 分
  • Leaning on Faith And Community After Losing Annie, with Cheri Fletcher

    Leaning on Faith And Community After Losing Annie, with Cheri Fletcher
    2026/08/04

    Thirteen days can change an entire family’s history. We sit down with Cheri Fletcher to remember her daughter Annie, a 29-year-old singer-songwriter, social worker, and photographer whose sudden decline ended in an unthinkable goodbye. With honesty and tenderness, Cheri walks us through what it’s like to lose an adult child to an aggressive cancer she did not even know was there, and how shock lingers long after the hospital.

    We also get practical about what grief really does. Cheri describes grief brain, the fog that makes reading hard and memory unreliable, the physical exhaustion that settles into daily life, and the way fear can spike when another loved one is late to return a call. We talk marriage and family dynamics, why counseling can help couples grieve in different ways without turning on each other, and how giving space and grace becomes a daily decision.

    A major thread is faith in suffering. When prayer feels impossible, Cheri shares how God met her through friends who kept sending scripture and personalized prayers, and how she learned to see God’s presence without minimizing pain. She also offers a perspective that stopped her in my tracks: God misses watching Annie too.

    Finally, we dig into the moment so many people dread: “I don’t know what to say.” Cheri created “Beyond I Don’t Know What To Say” grief cards to help friends and churches show up with courage, ask meaningful questions, and keep a child’s name present. Listen regularly for more hope-filled conversations, and share this with someone walking through loss, and leave a review so more grieving families can find this support.

    https://cherifletcher.com/

    Share any comments here


    *** If you have an Apple account, 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

    **** You can also opt to leave a review or rating on Podchasers by clicking the link below. Your opinions matter and mean so much to us!

    https://www.podchaser.com/HopeAfterChildSiblingLossTheEmptyChairEndeavor


    You can contact us by email at: hope@emptychairendeavor.com
    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!
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    53 分
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