Episode 426 - Getting Back Up When You're Shattered By Loss with Courtney Pray Duke

The Nothing Is Wasted Podcast

Davey Blackburn and Aubrey Sampson

Religion & Spirituality, Christianity

4.9 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 23 April 2026

⏱️ 73 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

How do you get back up after a life-shattering loss? How do you find hope when you must surrender to God the life you thought you’d have?Courtney Pray Duke was living her dream with her husband, Andrew, and their three young children when one day changed everything. As she was putting the finishing touches on Thanksgiving preparations, Andrew—an avid cyclist—went out for a bike ride. Just a few hours later, Courtney received the call that divided her life into a before and after: her husband had been hit by a vehicle and did not survive.In the depths of unimaginable grief, Courtney clung to God and slowly discovered the hope she had in Him in her darkest season. She shares that journey through heartbreak, faith, and restoration in her book And She Got Up: Shattered by Loss, Restored by Jesus.In this episode, Davey talks with Courtney about the power of surrender in the midst of pain, how to discern where God is leading when life takes an unexpected turn, and why remarriage after loss can be both beautiful and complicated as families blend and grief continues to be honored.If you’ve ever wondered how you could possibly get back up after being shattered by loss, this conversation will point you to the healing and hope that can be found as Jesus restores us—step by step—along the journey. Website: www.courtneyprayduke.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/courtneyprayduke Book: And She Got Up: Shattered by Loss, Restored by Jesus https://amzn.to/4raFgXbYour generosity carries stories of redemption to the next generation. Be a part of our Legacy of Hope and give today: nothingiswasted.com/legacyofhope Not living the story you expected? Pain changes us but doesn't have to define us. Find out how to begin your healing journey today: nothingiswasted.com/starthere Looking for help in navigating the valley of pain and trauma? Our Nothing is Wasted coaches can help: nothingiswasted.com/coaching 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.
0:09.6	No matter what you've faced or what you're walking through now, we believe your story isn't over.
0:15.0	Each week, you'll hear powerful conversations with people who've partnered with God to reclaim their stories of trauma, loss, and heartbreak, and we'll chat with Christian experts who offer wisdom and
0:26.2	practical tools for healing. This is a place of hope, redemption, and the reminder that
0:31.5	even in your darkest moments, God is still writing your story, because with him, nothing is wasted.
0:38.8	I'm your host, Davey Blackburn.
0:50.3	Hello, hello, welcome to the Nothing Is Wasted podcast.
0:53.3	Thanks for joining me this week.
0:54.7	We have a great conversation with my new friend Courtney Pray Duke this week.
0:59.0	And it's very appropriate because I'm actually on location recording this.
1:03.1	If you've been listening to the last several weeks, you know I'm right here at refuge widower's retreat,
1:08.6	where we do a retreat for young widowers twice a year every March
1:13.9	and every November in North Georgia. And our friend Courtney Prade Duke is not a widower,
1:22.3	but she's a widow. She tragically lost her husband in a cycling accident in 2012, and she's actually from the Atlanta area, closely connected with our friends at Never Alone Widows, which is a prolific ministry located in and around this area in Atlanta. And they're connected with my friend Daniel
1:46.1	Brooker and, uh, the ministry that he leads refuge widowers. And so I have the honor of being here
1:52.5	to help Daniel lead these 14 widowers this week. So if you're watching this on YouTube,
1:58.8	you notice a different setting that I'm in.
2:01.1	Took a little break this afternoon. And I decided to maximize that moment and that opportunity
2:07.9	to jump over here and get ahead on recording some intros, spend some time with you guys.
2:15.9	And, but man, Courtney's story is a heartbreaking story.
2:21.3	And yet, it's a pretty incredible story to see how she chose to embrace the suffering and the
2:29.3	pain and the loss. You know, and you find it's interesting, the common thread, as I'm sitting here
	...

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