Steve Siler & Shelly Beach: After the Crowds Are Gone
Grief is a lifetime occupation for parents of children who die. It outlasts the crowds who attend the funeral. It outlasts the patience of friends who expect parents to move on with life.
Steve Siler’s Song for Grieving Parents
This month, Steve Siler of Music for the Soul addresses the grief of parents after the crowds go away. You can listen to this month’s song here: After The Crowds Are Gone
Shelly Beach’s Devotion
This devotion from Shelly Beach about one family’s struggle with grief is sure to touch your heart.
After the Crowds Are Gone
The battle raged for nearly a year. On Monday Johnny was a vibrant eight-year-old. Two days later he was facing a diagnosis of inoperable brain cancer at St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis.
In the months that followed, a day never passed when Johnny, his parents and four siblings didn’t find letters and packages in their St. Jude’s or home mailboxes. Friends, family, and thousands across the nation rallied to his cause. Over the course of Johnny’s treatment, he and his family met President George W. Bush, visited Disney World, addressed the Arkansas legislature, and met sports and media celebrities.
But several weeks after Johnny’s death, a call went out from his mother over Facebook. Johnny’s wheelchair now sat empty. The flow of cards had stopped. Tears were falling that had been held back by the rush of activity in the months of Johnny’s struggle. Silence, anger, frustration, questions, and loneliness marked the family’s grief in the aftermath of their battle. A new stage of the battle had begun – learning to face grief and trust Jesus after the crowds were gone.
In spite of the silences and the pain, Johnny’s family holds firm to one truth – Jesus has been and will continue to be with them in each and every moment. He never lets go. He brings purpose from pain.
God’s mercies are new every morning. Even in the silences, and sometimes, most sweetly in the silences. Isaiah 41:13: For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.
