Episode 65: Fighting for Joy When Hard Things Keep Happening

Today I get to introduce you to a new friend of mine. She’s a grief sister, which is a phrase I sometimes use for other women who have also experienced a painful loss. Very often there is a quick connection that happens when I meet other people who are walking a similar path - and this held true with my guest today, Angie Hanson. A few weeks ago we met for coffee and as we began to share our stories with each other I knew immediately that we would be friends.

Angie has a very hard story. Not only did she also lose a son, but within the next two years, her husband and her brother also died. Three huge losses in just a couple of years. I appreciate Angie's ability to keep leaning into her continued grief AND fight for joy AND work to encourage and help others in their own difficulties and struggles.

Angie is my first podcast guest who has walked through the death of her husband so I’m thankful for her willingness to share about widowhood and remarriage and how she has learned to embrace the "both/and" of grief - sorrow coexisting with joy! We cover a lot in this conversation and Angie has so many good insights to share, so I’m glad you found this episode and hope you are encouraged as you hear from someone 17 years into the grief journey.

She talks about this towards the end of our chat but after you listen today I hope you will check out her blog. She’s a wonderful writer and covers so many different topics related to grief. She also has a grief-specific greeting card line that has really helped her to find some purpose in her pain by helping others walk with friends in grief. You can find out more about Angie's blog and grief cards at https://butterfliesandhalos.com. She is also on Facebook and Instagram @butterfliesandhalos.

**Today's episode is brought to you by Faithful Counseling, an amazing online Christian counseling service. I'm excited to offer my listeners 10% off at: faithfulcounseling.com/fightingforjoy. Quality counseling is a worthy investment and can be such a powerful tool in the fight for joy!