Losing a loved one is hard. . . There’s just no way around it. However, dealing with the emotions of the loss of a teenage son adds another layer to the grief. Bart Blair joins Dale on today’s 95Podcast to discuss the suicide of his 16-year-old son that happened four years ago. While it’s difficult to process, Bart bravely walks us through the emotions he and his family are processing with another Christmas season on the horizon.
This podcast offers practical advice for anyone dealing with the loss of a special family member as the holidays approach. Bart’s transparency is both refreshing and painful to listen to, but we believe it will provide great comfort to others going through the same thing.
Links to Resources Mentioned or Related
- Website: Make More Disciples
- Book Link: Grief Makes Christmas Complicated
- Email Bart
- Link to NEW! Soul Care Essentials Online: 3-Session Video Series
- Link to NEW! Soul Care Essentials Cohort: 6 Weeks of Guided Conversations for Post-Conference Groups
- 95Network – Soul Care Essentials
- 95Network – Healthy Church Assessment
- Read Stalled: Hope and Help for Pastors Who Thought They’d Be There By Now
- Watch Podcast on YouTube
Key Takeaways
1) You never really get over the shock of an unexpected death of a loved one.
2) We will never fully know what happened. There were no warning signs of our son’s impending suicide. We had a great time together the night before he took his life.
3) Working through the emotions of losing a loved one during the holiday season is almost impossible. However, at some point, you eventually have to move on from processing the grief to creating new memories.
4) We understand the need to create new family traditions to help us celebrate those who are still with us.
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