Episode 386 - Walking Alongside People in Their Pain with Jerry McFarland

The Nothing Is Wasted Podcast

Davey Blackburn and Aubrey Sampson

Religion & Spirituality, Christianity

4.9 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 17 July 2025

⏱️ 80 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

How do we support those in pain when we ourselves don’t have all the answers? How can we be present when we’re uncomfortable with the silence, the sorrow, and the questions that come with loss and tragedy?Pastor Jerry McFarland felt a twinge uncertainty the day he received a phone call asking him to visit a stranger at a local children’s hospital. Unsure of what he could say or offer, he still chose to show up—to step into someone else’s pain as an act of obedience to “mourn with those who mourn.” That’s when he met Amy Sylvestre, a mother clinging to hope as her infant son, Hudson, fought for his life.Healing didn’t come in the way Amy had hoped. But through Jerry’s quiet presence—a man she had never met before that hospital stay—Amy encountered the grace of God in the darkest chapter of her story. It was his willingness to sit with her in grief, to make space for her questions, her anger, and her heartbreak, that allowed her to begin to find comfort and hope again.In this tender episode, guest host Amy Sylvestre sits down with Jerry to reflect on that experience and explore what it means to walk with others through pain, how to entrust God with what is most precious, and why it's not only okay—but necessary—to let people be honest in their sorrow.Whether you're a leader or simply someone who knows a person in pain, this conversation will remind you: you don’t need to have the right words or the perfect response. Your presence, your listening ear, and your willingness to show up may be exactly what someone needs in the hardest part of their story. Episode 175: Amy's Story: https://www.nothingiswasted.com/podcast1/episode-175?rq=amy Need help navigating your own loss? Let Amy help: https://www.nothingiswasted.com/coaches/amy-sylvestre Wondering where to get started on your journey towards healing? Join Davey on our next FREE, live Zoom call and find out how you can begin to take back your story and how Nothing is Wasted can help. Sign up today at: www.nothingiswasted.com/starthere Looking for help in navigating the valley of pain and trauma? Our Nothing is Wasted coaches can help: www.nothingiswasted.com/coaching Want a pathway through your pain? The Pain to Purpose Course can lead you through all you've been through: www.nothingiswasted.com/paintoppurpose Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Nothing is Wasted podcast, where we meet you in your pain and help you discover a pathway through.
0:10.2	No matter what you've faced or what you're walking through now, we believe your story isn't over.
0:15.7	Each week, you'll hear powerful conversations with people who've partnered with God to reclaim their stories of trauma, loss, and heartbreak.
0:23.7	And we'll chat with Christian experts who offer wisdom and practical tools for healing.
0:28.8	This is a place of hope, redemption, and the reminder that even in your darkest moments, God is still writing your story.
0:36.5	Because with him, nothing is wasted. I'm your host,
0:40.3	Davey Blackburn. Hello, hello. Welcome to the Nothing is Wasted podcast. I'm so grateful that you
0:46.8	are joining us this week for another powerful episode. Every single week, we have great conversations
0:53.2	with people who are navigating
0:54.7	different types, different journeys of pain. We're also pasturing or ministering to or
1:00.9	helping others in pain. And maybe you've come here because you've got some kind of valley
1:05.7	that you're navigating right now and you're looking for some help, for some hope, for some
1:09.9	resources you found the right place. Or maybe many of you guys have started coming here because you're looking for some help, for some hope, for some resources you found the right
1:11.0	place. Or maybe many of you guys have started coming here because you're looking for how
1:15.8	to help other people in the middle of their pain. And this episode is especially
1:22.1	pertinent and powerful for you because of the conversation that our friend Amy Sylvester has with
1:30.5	her pastor Jerry McFarland. Here's a question. What if the most powerful form of care,
1:37.9	pastoral care, care otherwise, wasn't about having the right answers, but it was about being fully present in the
1:47.3	pain. What if it's not about having the right solution to their problem or some kind of thing
1:56.6	that we can offer to resolve their pain, but instead it's just showing up in the middle of their pain.
2:03.3	You see, many times we get so, when we're showing up for somebody else who has lost someone
2:09.8	or is going through a really difficult time, we don't know what to say.
	...

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