THE JOURNEY OF GRIEF
Walking through the valley of the shadow of death
I’ve always considered David’s words in the 23rd Psalm, “walking through the valley of the shadow of death” to be especially comforting and reassuring during those life-threatening challenges in our lives. Since the death of our daughter in 2010 however, I have come to appreciate how well these familiar words also speak to the journey of grief when a loved one dies. It’s been said that life is a journey rather than a destination. I have come to believe that the same is also true of grief. Grief is a journey on which we come to terms with the “new normal” that is now our life, following the loss of someone we love. And while virtually everyone makes this journey (and most of us several times over), the road that each of us travels through our grief is unique.
My Story
Pastor Joseph Radsek is a second-career pastor who served 13 years in the parish ministry before taking a call to serve at Institutional Ministries in 2006. He and his wife, Dawn, have been married for 44 years and have been blessed with three daughters. His presentation draws upon his personal journeys of grief, including the death of Dawn’s parents and little brother in a plane crash, the loss of his father and two grandparents to cancer, and a daughter due to complications from a severe eating disorder. Joe and his wife have also had the privilege of caring for three loved ones in their home when the LORD took them to heaven.