Tag: grief

healing, hope

The Impact of Charlie Kirk: A Voice for Our Time

The Kedge Anchor
Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

On September 10, 2025, many of us were shaken by the news of Charlie Kirk’s passing. I was in disbelief when I first heard the news. My husband texted me and told me that Charlie Kirk had tragically lost his life. I was crushed. How? Why? A husband, father, and bold voice in our generation, his presence was felt not only in politics but in the realm of faith. In our home, Charlie was a staple in our YouTube news feed. Day after day, his voice popped up alongside pastors, analysts, artists, animal videos and storytellers, becoming part of the rhythm of our daily life. While the world remembers his speeches and debates, we remember a man who, for such a time as this, stepped into arenas others avoided and spoke with conviction.

Charlie embraced his moment in history. He was not perfect, none of us are, but he understood that the times we live in call for courage. Whether one agreed with him or not, there was no denying that his anchor was firm, and his willingness to stand was clear. “If you believe in something, you need to have the courage to fight for those ideas—not run away from them or try and silence them.” Charlie was created for “such a time as this” Esther 4:14.

As believers, we grieve his sudden loss, but we do not grieve as those without hope. Hebrews 6:19 reminds us, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” Charlie’s voice has not been silenced here on earth, but his ultimate hope was in Christ, and that hope is eternal.

Charlie knew his calling and was given a platform, and he used it boldly. The challenge now rests on us, to boldly rise up in faith, to speak truth with love, to love others regardless of what they believe and to anchor our souls in the One who gives life beyond the grave.

Like many, I still have questions. Why, Lord? I asked God. And in His gentleness, He reminded me of His sovereignty, that He ordains our days. “All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139:16). What shocked and saddened us was no surprise to God. From the day He gave Charlie life, God already knew the day He would call him home.

Even Jesus knew, while He walked this earth, when, where, how, and why He would lay down His life for the sins of the world. My heart aches for Charlie’s wife, children, and family, I can only imagine their grief. And yet we serve a Savior who does understand grief: “a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.” – Isaiah 53:3.

So I trust God, and yet I still struggle. My prayer for Erika and the entire family is that as they walk through this valley, they will continually seek the presence of God. As Psalm 16:11 promises: “You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.”

Charlie’s voice is not gone, in fact, it continues to echo through us, in the lives he touched, the convictions he stirred, and the courage he inspired. For such a time as this, we are called to step boldly, to speak truth with love, to love others as Christ loves us and to anchor our lives in Christ. May we honor his memory not by clinging to sorrow, but by living faithfully, loving deeply, and standing courageously in the moments God has given us.

Though we grieve, we do not grieve without hope, for our ultimate anchor is in Jesus, who gives life that never ends. May His presence bring comfort, guidance, and strength to all who mourn, and may we each rise to live fully, for the days God has entrusted to us.

hope

Finding Forgiveness and Redemption Amidst the 33rd Olympic Games Controversy

The Kedge Anchor
Image by Sr. Maria-Magdalena R. SMCB from Pixabay

The events that have taken place here in America and in France have me pondering, what is happening? I’m trying to process and make sense of it all as I am sure everyone has. At first, I wasn’t going to post anything, but I kept having a nagging feeling. But, let me preface this post with, we all have our own perspectives, this is mine and it’s what God has placed on my heart.

The events that I am talking about are the attempted assassination on President Trump and the opening Olympic ceremonies. This may be part one of two because there is just too much to write in one blog post. Today I just want to cover the Olympics.

My husband and I watched the opening ceremony of the 33rd Olympic Games and we kept asking ourselves, “what are we watching?” I saw some of the beginning before I dozed off and woke up to my husband describing to me what he saw. He began scrolling through social media feeds to show me what I missed. I was even more confused and bewildered at what I was seeing. We all know what I am talking about, the spectacle of what looked a lot like the Last Supper.

People were defending France’s performance and that it was a representation of bacchanalia and it has nothing to do with the Last Supper and had no intention of representing it. Bacchanalian is defined as “(especially of a party) involving a lot of drinking of alcohol, uncontrolled behaviour, and possibly sexual activity:” “The Bacchanalia were unofficial, privately funded popular Roman festivals of Bacchus, based on various ecstatic elements of the Greek Dionysia.” France is known for its for being showy, flamboyant, and well let’s face it lack modesty. I am not defending what we all witnessed, just sayin’. I don’t know what France’s intention was, I am not a mind reader. I was and still am taken aback by what I saw.

Trying to process all that I, we witnessed, I wasn’t sure what I was feeling. I really had to process. What I was feeling was grief. I am saddened by what I saw. It broke my heart. Let’s remove the whole Last Supper reference, to me it was just bad taste. Kids were watching this. This is the Olympics, it suppose to be family and kid friendly. Never would I imagine that the opening ceremony would need to be censored. Add in the Last Supper and that just took it to another level.

Some may be arguing that perhaps many of us aren’t educated enough to understand Bacchanalian, or it’s just Greek mythology, this is just French culture, and some will argue that DaVinci got it wrong with Jesus and the disciples sitting and not reclining at the table. While DaVinci may have not had the proper seating, it wasn’t perverted. So to the people who think Christians need more education about this, maybe those who don’t understand Christianity need to read the Bible and understand that we don’t take it or what God means to us lightly. And while perverting the Last Supper may not have been France’s intention, I don’t know. I do know WE ALL one day will have to give an account for our words and actions.

We are all sinners. We ALL fall short of the glory of God (Roman’s 3:23), we ALL need a Savior and that Person would be Jesus Christ. This isn’t the first time Jesus was mocked. And none of this has taken God by surprised. He knew before the foundation of the world, this would take place. God is a gracious God. Read Genesis 6:9-22 when God wiped out all of humanity except for Noah and his family. Read Genesis 19 about Sodem and Gomorrah and see how God dealt with that situation. Read Revelation and see how God will deal with sin in the future. Matthew 12:36 “and I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak” (NLT). Romans 14:12 “Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God” (NLT).

My heart has been hurt, I am grieving. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t mad, I am and hurt. I know many of us are feeling similar feelings if not the same. But can we forgive? Can we forgive as Jesus forgives us? Ephesians 4:32. Jesus was mocked when He hung on the cross and said “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” – Luke 23:34 (NKJV). “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” – Galatians 6:7 (NIV).

We could use this opportunity to share the Gospel and help others understand why this grieves us and God. Perhaps we could use it as an opportunity to show forgiveness. Let keep fighting the good fight, let’s not grow weary of doing good, spreading the Gospel, “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” – Galatians 6:9 (NLT).

healing

Seashells and Snowflakes – Part 3

The Kedge Anchor

If you have been following this series, welcome back and thank you. In this season of grieving I am trying to understand how as a Christian I can be sad and joyful and I have also began to understand that there is purpose in our pain. In the previous two posts (Part 1, Part 2)I shared how I am processing mixed emotions in grief. How can I possible be sad and experience joy. I also shared what I am doing to stay close to God and some creative practices to help process, like writing this blog.

In the last post I left off with Jesus dying on the cross for our sins. He took the weight of the world, the weight of ALL our sins, past present and future. I believe that Jesus felt every kind of physical and emotional pain a human can feel that day. Jesus understands suffering, pain, persecution, temptations, He experienced it all, everything and everything His creation could feel.

This scene in The Chosen Season 3 episode 2, “Two By Two” Little James approaches Jesus and asks why he hasn’t been healed. Please watch this scene. The writers give a plausible explanation for why Jesus didn’t heal Little James and that explanation could be applied to us. It makes sense. Are we willing to still follow Jesus despite our infirmities?

So I thought some more about Jesus crucified on the cross. He could have healed Himself at any time. He could have come down from that cross like nothing happened, completely whole, healed. But He didn’t. His pain on the cross had a purpose. That purpose was to complete the plan of salvation. He had to endure the cross so that He could freely offer us salvation, eternal life. Our pain has purpose. God hears our prayers, He sees our pain but He has a plan and a purpose for us and sometimes that infirmity is part of it. God does heal, He heals everyone, we just may not see it this side of Heaven. We may not know what purpose our pain has here on earth. We certainly have a story to tell and that story could lead someone to Christ or give them Hope.

God loves us and wants nothing but the best for us, His children. He has a plan and a purpose for our lives and sometimes that means pain, physical or emotional. It’s hard to trust when we experience pain but when we do trust the result is beautiful. It helps for me to know that my story can help someone else; maybe that is A purpose.

John 16:33 – “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

ESV
healing, Uncategorized

Seashells and Snowflakes – Part 1

The Kedge Anchor

Grieving is hard, uncomfortable even more so when you’re not sure how to process. Any loss is a reason to grieve, a job, relocation, a home, a loved one, a break up can cause us to grieve. And many times we can experience mixed emotions. As one grieves the loss of a job one can also experience the anticipation and excitement of starting something new. Moving to a new home, we can grieve losing the one place we have, the only place know, but then there’s the excitement of a new beginning and new surroundings, meeting new people and making new friends. Loss is hard and losing someone you love is harder than anything.

My mom recently passed away. But this isn’t the first time I have experienced the vast array of mixed emotions, almost to the point I have felt psychotic. My dad passed away about 20 years ago (just a side note, I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact my dad isn’t here) and I experienced the same mixed emotions and at that time, it was all new to me. I experienced the five stages of grieving, however, it was the sadness and the joy of knowing he was in Heaven that had me stumped. How can I possibly feel both? Like I said, this isn’t the first time I have experienced these mixed emotions, I am sure I had them, this was just the first time I identified them . It’s just that when losing someone, for me, these mixed emotions seem to be ever present and very clear and here I am again experiencing the same emotions trying to remember how I got through.

These emotions I found to be most in conflict when it came to socializing or doing something I enjoyed doing. I felt guilty for feeling like I could enjoy myself. How could I? I couldn’t share life or the fun I was having with my dad. I was getting stuck and it was hard to move forward. I came across part of poem in a journal I had and it summed up what I was feeling and I realized that I wasn’t the first to feel this way and it’s ok.

Two days after my sister called me to tell me that the doctor said she needed to go to the hospital, the sooner the better, I booked a flight home. By the time I got to mom, mom was kinda out of it. But her eyes did open wide when my sister told her I was there, and we got to be by her side for a few more days.
One morning getting ready to go somewhere, I don’t remember where, I dumped out a small bag of jewelry that I brought with me. My small gold scalloped seashells and silver snowflakes tumbled out and right there was a perfect image of what I was feeling; seashells and snowflakes were about as opposite of the sadness and joy I was feeling. Two very different seasons rolled into one. It is a very uncomfortable place to be. It hurts. At times I feel a little crazy and not sure what to feel or how to feel it, or process it. Come to find out, it’s ok. As uncomfortable as it is, it’s ok.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 says “… to everything there is A season…” I was experiencing two at once. Those mixed emotions are exhausting to me. The whole grieving process of raw emotion is exhausting. But this is how I cope and manage so that I can go on.

I feel the all the feels. Sad, happy, anger, and all the shades of emotions in between, I let myself feel. Cry if I have to, reach out if I have to, pray, sing, rejoice, reminisce, read scripture.

I thank God for giving me my mom and dad, the life they provided for me and my sister. I thank God for my mom leading us to Jesus, His plan of salvation and the promise of Heaven, because if it wasn’t for my mom, my family, I don’t know where I’d be today.

I think about the good times we all had together at holidays, my sister our aunts and uncles close friends, and all our cousins by the dozens.

I know that my mom and dad would want me, want us, to keep going. It’s ok that I take my time to mourn and grieve but I need to move on and live life again, it’s just going to be a little different, take some time and that’s ok too.

I recall the outpouring of love and sympathy from friends and family, their support and prayers. My husband has been a huge support to me and my sister. I don’t think he knows how much just being there helps. We have several church families that have supported us through an outpouring of prayer, texts, emails, flowers and cards. Those have been such and encouragement.

I imagine how Jesus must have felt resurrecting Lazarus. Jesus wept, John 11:35. Though the Bible doesn’t say specifically why He wept, Jesus performed a miracle for Larzarus’ sisters, by resurrecting him from the grave. Jesus may have been happy for Mary and Martha and for all three of them to be with each other again but sad that Lazarus would not just leave Heaven but die again. I don’t know. And I have more to share about how God felt when He sacrificed His only Son.

Please stay tuned, I will share more as I process. This is a lot and I hope my story can be someone’s hope.

If you have any questions or comments please comment below.