Hey! So Glad You're Here.

Widowhood can be scary. When I began my own personal journey three years ago, I was filled with many uncertainties and fear for the future. I didn't know many widows with young children and there weren't a lot of real-life examples out there that I could glean from. Women grieve differently than men. Children grieve differently than adults. The age at which you became a widow also plays a significant factor in how you cope. And although I had a great support system, I felt like I was having to figure it out as I went because everyone does grief a little differently. Writing helped me process what was happening around me.

I became a widow at age 37. Mike is my late husband and we have 3 children. At the time of his death, Mike was 43, Abi was 13, Eli was 11 and Annabelle was 7. Mike was a pastor of our local congregation in the North Carolina foothills. I worked part time as a preschool director in a nearby town and part time as the Music Minister in our church. Mike was killed by a drunk driver after leaving Eli's basketball game and our three children were in the vehicle at the time of the accident.

As you read through my blog, I hope you will be able to identify with the struggles of loss and adapting to a new normal, but above all, I hope you will see how the Lord guided and directed each step throughout the most difficult days of my life. He was a constant companion and even though I couldn't see it clearly at the time, looking back, it is even more apparant that He never left my side.

Chances are, if you've found this site, you may be facing some of the same uncertanties and fear as I experienced. Let me encourage you to lean on a scripture that meant so much to me during that time, "Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10 It was easy to be still, but much more difficult to know that He was God. Even through all my uncertainties, God was never outmatched by my questions and He continued to love me unwaveringly... just like He does you.

Blessings,

Ashley