Where Is God When Life Gets Hard? - Dealing with Alzheimer, suffering and Loss w/ Guest Walter Shepherd

Old Fashion Dad Podcast

Walter Shepherd is Christian Harris's father-in-law and over the past 7 years, has been enduring the mental and physical health decline of his wife of over 50 years, to the disease of Alzheimers. He discusses grief, loss and what it looks like to go to God in your pain, doubts and yet still be faithful and trust in God's goodness and grace.

NOTES:

• This Weeks Whiskey: N/A
• What is the relationship between suffering, grief and prolonged grieving?
• Grieving is something we find in scripture and is a natural emotion that God gave us.
• Christian's have a tendency to move on too fast, not grieve enough... though we are not to grieve as if we don't have hope (in God)
• They want to move on from the uncomfortableness of grief and act like everything is fine, as if grieving or being sad dishonors God
• Non-Christian's tend to keep on grieving and never ceasing grieving (never moving forward or beyond)
• What we don't grieve and deal with successfully, will come back and cause us problems later and we tend to get stuck, unable to move forward.
• Essentially, how do we acknowledge that we are in a hole, without staying in the hole?
• The thing that helps keep Walter going if reminding himself that, "it's not about you". As Christian's, we are called to "die to ourselves and live for Christ"
• He thinks about how can he turn each of these challenging situations toward God, because God can handle it and he can't.
• Don't compare your suffering to others. Your suffering or lose is just as real as those who have experienced something "worse".
• Though we may not ever know why we experience specific suffering, while God may allow suffering to happen to us but God will never "waste" the pain you experience in life.
• Staying in God's Word, regular prayer and a community of people willing to speak hard but loving truth into your life are all key, not only in life but specifically when life gets hard.
• Two big indicators to keep watch of during a prolonged period of suffering or trials, are your anxiety and anger/frustraiton levels.
• People don't change and grow when people are comfortable and things are easy... especially not character or maturity in Christ.
• We are in very little control of anything in life and God's grace is sufficient for us.
• To be ok with the hard parts of life and suffering, we need to be fully surrendered to God, trusting that what He has brought us to, He will see us through... remaining teachable and open.

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