God's Mercies After Suicide

I cannot comprehend the devastation that follows the loss of a child to suicide, but Jean Williams can. I'm privileged to be part of the launch of her book, God's Mercies after Suicide: Blessings Woven through a Mother's Heart. Jean will be posting the devotional on her blog.

Jean Ann Williams lives in Southern Oregon with her husband Jim. Although one of their children has passed on to the Great Beyond, their two remaining children have blessed them with thirteen grandchildren, their Baker’s Dozen.

To learn more about Jean Ann Williams visit her on Face Book, Twitter, and her blogs Love Truth and Jean Ann Williams: Author.

http://joshua-mom.blogspot.com/
http://jeanannwilliams.blogspot.com/

Jean's book will release in installments, on her blog, beginning March 16. She will post three times per week - Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The posts will have three parts for each chapter - the devotions, My Mother Memories, and a journal page for the reader. 

Until the book releases in print readers can journal on their own, using the suggested headings below:

• ~Your Mother Memories~
• ~Your Prayer of Praise~
• ~A Scripture of Encouragement~

From Jean Ann Williams: 

On March 16, 2015, it will be eleven years since my son left his family and friends with our grief, questions, and the memories of him.

“When our children die, we want their lives to have mattered. We long for the world to know they were here.”

God's Mercies After Suicide opens with this preface:

Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not
perceive it?
—Isaiah 43:18-19

I had a dream. I dreamed the nightmare never happened. Our son Joshua never passed on to the hereafter. He married and had children. Then I woke, and knew the dream was only that—a dream. We live with our reality.

I’ve written these devotions for those of you who have shared the deep heartache of a child’s suicide. Through my writing, I believe God wants me to share from my heart to yours, by encouraging you and giving you ways to cope. You can have hope and peace after a suicide. God has helped me and He wants to help you. The loss is horrific, but God is faithful. He brought me through this dark time, and He wants to do the same for you.

A yearning to write this story came five years into my journey of loss. I sensed a dawn of courage within myself, but I haven’t come this far in a blink, nor on my own. Although I knew I’d lose my nerve, only to gain it back time and again before I completed my story, I also knew I’d have the help from the Lord God, and the folks He sends my way.

Am I full of courage? Yes! Yes, I shout, with God’s hand upon me.

God, when I falter, I pray You will renew my strength. In Jesus’s name. Amen.

God’s Mercies after Suicide: Blessings Woven through a Mother’s Heart is a devotional of two hundred and nineteen pages–30,000 words– and is intended for mothers who’ve lost children to suicide. This book is a friendly, approachable, inviting book that helps mothers feel welcome and at ease to allow them a peaceful time to reflect on their loss and the child they miss. Each chapter has three sections. The devotional begins with Scripture and where the author tells the story of her loss and then ends in a prayer. The second part is of the author’s anecdotes and memories of her son. They are short and sweet, with a dramatic style rather than a how-to. The author reenacts moments in her child’s life and recalls how she felt to see the different stages of growth and challenges he faced in life. The concluding part to each chapter is a journal page for the readers to write their memories of their child. It allows them space for both memories and grieving, a prayer of praise, and a Scripture of encouragement.

When a mother has lost a child, there are times when it’s hard to mingle with other people. Each God’s Mercies after Suicide chapter can be read and journaled in the privacy of a mother’s home, giving her a bit of hope and rest for another day. The book is distinctive in that it combines coping with the pain of loss while encouraging mothers to search for their own blessings. The book reaches out from its pages and wraps mothers in the warmth and love of their heavenly Father.

It has been stated by sufferers of loss to suicide that the topic of suicide is taboo, and that the survivors feel they’ve been isolated from the normal hum of life. In truth, the ones left behind after the suicide do have a valid point. Included in the preface of the book is this paragraph: “I’ve written these devotions for those mothers who have shared the deep heartache of a child’s suicide. Through my writing, I believe God wants me to share from my heart to theirs, by encouraging them and giving them ways to cope. Mothers can have hope and a due measure of peace after a suicide. God has helped me, and He wants to help other mothers. The loss is horrific, but God is faithful. He brought me through this dark time, and He wants to do the same for all mothers.”

Mothers of loss from suicide face separate concerns—concerns that are not taught nor thought about when they become parents. No one wants to consider that they’ll give birth to a child who could die by suicide. The mothers who endure this type of pain need a resource that considers their exclusive struggles and offers honest help from one mother to another—not in a step-by-step format but in story form, which draws the reader into a world they may know all too well.


Jean, thank you for sharing from your heart. I know your journey will minister to others who are traveling this painful road. 

Grace and peace to you from God,

Bonnie

MAKING A DIFFERENCE -- Meet Judy Gann

Judy, I’ve known you for a good number of years. And I’ve watched as your sweet spirit reaches out to those around you. You are definitely a person making a difference. I’m privileged to call you my friend. I’d love it if my readers could become better acquainted with you. Can you share a little about your background, and can you tell us who Judy Gann is?

Thank you for the warm welcome, Bonnie. I’m humbled and honored to be a participant in your “Make a Difference” series. I hope my story will illustrate that God can use us to make a difference in our sphere of
influence—regardless of our personal limitations and obstacles.

I grew up in a loving, close family near the beach in San Diego. I became a Christian through the ministry of The Navigators while in college. After college I taught elementary school and later became a children’s librarian.

I’ve lived with chronic illness most of my life—immune system problems. Although at times I want to shout, “There’s more to me than my illness!” I know my health issues have been used by God to mold me into the person I am today. Stubborn and independent by nature, I know, if not for my illnesses, I would rely on my own strength, not the Lord’s. Because of my own health issues, I have a great understanding and compassion for people with physical and emotional limitations.

I’ve been told that my spiritual gift is encouragement. My greatest joy is found in offering hope and encouragement to others—whether through friendship, mentoring younger women at church, writing, or speaking.

And an encourager is exactly what you are. I’ve been the recipient many times. Thank you.

• You were involved in a ministry called Rest Ministries. Can you tell us about this ministry and what your role has been in this valuable organization?

Rest Ministries (www.restministries.org )is an international Christian support ministry for people with chronic illness and chronic pain. Lisa Copen, the Director of Rest Ministries, runs the ministry from her home—in spite of her own chronic illnesses. Rest Ministries provides Christian hope, comfort, and encouragement through a variety of resources: daily devotional, support groups, articles, e-mail loops, prayer groups, etc. It is the first resource I give to friends and acquaintances who are diagnosed with chronic illness.

For several years I had the privilege of serving as Writers’ Coordinator for Rest Ministries. I monitored an online group of people interested in helping others by sharing their experiences with illness through the written word. In addition, I represented Rest Ministries’ HopeKeepers Magazine at writers conferences. I loved meeting with aspiring writers. God’s lead me in new directions now, but I’ll always treasure the time I spent with Rest Ministries.

Rest Ministries has been a great help to me. I receive their daily devotionals and often pass them on to twitter or to friends who can use a word of encouragement. It’s very helpful.

• Your book, God of All Comfort is still in print many years after its original release. What motivated you to write this enriching devotional? How did you come to write it and why do you think it is still in demand?


Books and words were always a part of my life and I always dreamed of writing books like the ones I read so voraciously. But busy with the priorities of daily life, I stowed my dream of writing until I had more time.

Then several years ago a brutal allergic reaction to medication severely impaired my cognitive abilities. After spending nearly a year bedridden, I returned to work, only to find I’d lost the ability to write even a simple memo. My dream of writing crumbled.

Over the next seven years my cognitive abilities—including writing—gradually improved. I came to view my ability to write as a gift from God. God is the God of second chances. He gave my writing ability back to me, and I now have a responsibility to use it for Him.

These thoughts were in the back of my mind when one day a few years later, a friend asked me, “Judy, which Scripture passages comfort and encourage you when you’re battling poor health?” My friend’s question stayed in my mind long after I’d given a list of verses to her. Later, they became the basis for The God of All Comfort: Devotions of Hope for Those Who Chronically Suffer(AMG Publishers).

My purpose in writing a devotional book for people with illness was to draw them into God’s word to find the comfort, strength and hope for living with chronic illnesses. It’s my way of comforting others with the comfort God’s given me. (2 Cor. 1:3-4) I interviewed seventeen other people with illness so the application is broader than my own experience with illness.

I think the reason this book is still in demand is that illness is, unfortunately, one of those “evergreen” topics. Chronic illness doesn’t go away. We’re living longer and the large population of baby boomers is dealing with the effects of aging.

Judy has graciously consented to give away a copy of her book, The God of All Comfort. Leave a comment and I’ll make sure to include you in a drawing for this wonderful devotional.

• You are a busy woman, involved with your family and numerous other ventures. It seems you’re always jetting off somewhere. Can you tell us about some of your activities, including the fabulous novel you’re presently working on? Taking into account all of you’re enterprises is there one that is closest to your heart? And what do you see yourself doing in the future?

I’m hoping this year involves a bit less “jetting off” as you put it. LOL
It’s a bit of a toss-up, but I think writing my novel is closest to my heart for 2012. I’ve always loved to read fiction and been a firm believer in the power of stories to convey biblical truth and hope. While attending an American Christian Fiction Writers Conference to teach a workshop on marketing to libraries, I took a beginning fiction class and was hooked on writing fiction. But, it wasn’t until a comment from a member of my writing prayer team collided with a news item that I knew I had my story. It’s very much a WIP, but I’d like to finish my manuscript by next July.
Another project dear to my heart is Library Insider ®, an innovative tool to assist authors and publishers in marketing to public libraries, in partnership with Books & Such Literary Agency. Library Insider consists of a regularly updated database of major libraries in the United States along with the contact information for the book purchasing decision makers, usually the acquisitions librarians. Training and additional marketing resources are also available. For more information see www.libraryinsider.com.

For the future, I’d like to continue writing fiction and assisting authors and publishers in marketing to public libraries. I’d like this year to be a year of reconnecting with my church, family and friends. I tend to be too focused on tasks and sometimes let relationships slide.

• Is there anything you’d like to add to this discussion? And how can we best pray for you?

I’m continually in awe of God’s provision of strength in the midst of my physical weakness; the ability He gives me to do all He calls me to do. I pray that your readers will be encouraged to examine their own spheres of influence and see where the Lord is calling them to make a difference. You may feel limited. But, God’s strength shows up best in our areas of weakness.

Each year, with much prayer, I choose a word for the year. This year’s word is “savor.” Please pray that I will savor what the Lord has for me in each moment and experience as it’s happening, rather than getting caught up in busyness and thinking about the next thing on the agenda.

Thanks so much for the privilege of sharing with you!

Thank you, Judy, for sharing your life, wisdom and vision. You are an inspiration to others.