Open to Hope Articles

Articles Home

A Young Father’s Murder

Posted on June 17, 2016 - by Jill Smoot

I met Randall when he was just six years old, the youngest of three siblings, one brother Mickey, and older sister Nancy, who was to become a lifelong friend. But at thirteen, we rarely thought of the future. It was fun to go to her house. Since I was an only child, I thought her little brothers were funny and cute. But time moved incredibly fast, and the little kid Randall grew up, married, and was now a young father himself. Nancy and I also had established homes of our own, and we remained close friends. As I reflect back […]

Father’s Day: A Duel Between Happiness and Sadness

Posted on June 17, 2016 - by Bart Sumner

The first Father’s Day I remember was when I was 8 or 9, and my dad and I were on an “Indian Guides” camping weekend with our “Tribe.” “Indian Guides” was a father and son organization run by the YMCA, and that weekend lots of fathers and their boys went camping in cabins, roughing it, and bonding. The Sunday morning that weekend was Father’s Day, and I had, with the help of my mother, hidden a pair of socks, wrapped neatly in my bag, so I could surprise my dad with a present when he woke up. Turns out, I […]

Fathers of Faith

Posted on June 15, 2016 - by Dr. Jane R. Westerfield

The hymn, Faith of Our Fathers, inspires the worshipper to be true to our forefathers’ Christian faith and to lead others to Christ through the example we set in our own lives. As Father’s Day approaches, it is with gratitude to God that I remember those whom we have “loved and lost awhile” as well as those who are still blessing our lives here on earth. I’d like to share three brief profiles of Fathers of Faith, men who have blessed my life. Bishop Frank Lewis Robertson My father was a United Methodist minister serving churches throughout South Georgia. He […]

Grief Tips for Those Who Lost Loved Ones in Orlando

Posted on June 13, 2016 - by John Rampton

The loss this weekend in Orlando is devastating to anyone that has heard about this senseless mass murder. However, for those that were directly impacted because they lost a child, friend, or loved one, the sense of loss is beyond words. It’s difficult to even know where to start in this type of grieving process, especially since there was no way to say goodbye to the person you lost, which so often helps with some type of closure. While all types of loss are hard to cope with, it becomes more complicated when an act of murder is involved. In […]

Why Does it Hurt So Much?

Posted on June 13, 2016 - by Nina Impala

Grieving people usually don’t ask directly: Why does it hurt so much? But I see that it hurts; I hurt like that. It hurts because you loved. You were connected to another human being heart to heart. It hurts. Death hurts a lot when we love like this. This hurt causes an incredible amount of suffering that hopefully this article may help you with. Recently, watching the suffering of a mother losing her child, a sister losing her brother, and a father losing his son, I was moved to think deeply about human suffering. I prayed about it; in my […]

Tragedy in Orlando, Collective Grief and Aftershocks of Loss

Posted on June 13, 2016 - by Marty Tousley

If the tragic events in Orlando yesterday were heavy for you and served as a painful reminder of the personal loss or losses you’ve endured, you are not alone in the sorrow you’re experiencing today. Once again our entire nation finds itself immersed in collective grief. For many Americans the feelings of grief associated with this horrific event seem just as raw as they did when the terrorist attacks happened on September 11, 2001. A newscast or film clip from Orlando can catch us by surprise, acting as a trigger, and it’s as if we’re confronted not only with traumatic […]

Valarie Molaison: Supporting Grieving Families for the Long Haul

Posted on June 12, 2016 - by Heidi Horsley

Right after someone passes is often the most difficult period. Dr. Heidi Horsley interviews Dr. Valarie Molaison about how to handle this time, and what you can do to help support grieving families. Dr. Molaison is the clinical director at Supporting Kids in Delaware. Dr. Horsley points out that society gives people a lot of ideas on how to provide support in immediate situations, such as when planning a memorial. However, what kind of support does a family want afterward? Isolation and abandonment are common feelings after the rituals are gone. People don’t know what to do, and this feeling […]

Father’s Day After Your Father Has Died

Posted on June 11, 2016 - by Neil Chethik

It’s Father’s Day, and for more than 100 million Americans whose fathers have died, it will be a day of missing Dad. What can these fatherless Americans do to make the holiday meaningful? For my book, FatherLoss, I interviewed several hundred people about the death of their dads. And some were actually a little relieved on Father’s Day after their dad had died. This was especially true if they had a troubled relationship with their dad. After he died, they didn’t have to come up with a gift for him, or send him a card – or apologize for not […]

Henya Shanun-Klein: Parental Bereavement

Posted on June 10, 2016 - by Jessica Tyner Mehta

In 1989, Henya Shanun-Klein lost her daughter, Gili, who was killed by a reckless driver. Her daughter was only eleven years old at the time. Shanun-Klein shares her story with the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) to help others who are grieving the loss of a child. Now the director of thanatology at Haifa University, Dr. Shanun-Klein has dedicated her life to studying the bereavement field. She founded the program at the university in honor of her daughter. She’s also in the process of founding an organization in Israel to further honor her daughter. The author of Gili’s […]

Ted Bowman: The Hidden Losses

Posted on June 9, 2016 - by Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi Horsley

In this webisode of the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) organization, Ted Bowman joins the show to talk about different types of loss. Things rarely work out as planned. Dr. Gloria Horsley introduces Bowman as she asks about shattered dreams. “What are some of the factors around loss?” she asks. There are conspicuous losses, such as a death or a divorce. There are also internal losses that he calls shattered dreams or loss of dreams. It’s a “death” of what you expect life to be. You might be dealing with a death or a diagnosis, but you’re thinking, […]