The death of a loved one is perhaps the most natural time to lean into the now and not yet framework of God's kingdom.

But that doesn't mean it's the easiest.

What does grief have to teach us about who God is and who we are?

These are the questions today's episode of the

Gracely's podcast is tackling. I'm Ruth Joe Simons, and today you're going to hear from my co-host

Eve Stipes in two conversations, one with my husband Troy, who lost his brother in 2021, and one with

her mom, Joyce, who lost her husband in 2020.

I'm praying that each of these conversations encourages you deeply today, friends.

So let's get right to it.

Okay, so today on the podcast, super excited to have Mr. Troy Simons with us,

as we have a conversation that is maybe a little bit heavier than some of the ones we've had this season, but then again, maybe not. We're talking

about grief today and how unexpected grief especially plays out in now and not yet. So, Troy, we love you you on the podcast but would you explain a little bit

about the season when you lost your brother what that looked like kind of just set it up for us

oh my goodness yeah um you know when you have those catastrophic events like like 9-11, I still remember where I was.

You know, I literally walked into the office at church and they had the TVs on and they said, have you seen this?

And, you know, for the rest of the day, I was glued to the TV.

And I can still see it my mind's eye. And so, yeah, when I lost my brother, I was in the kitchen.

I got a call from his wife, which was kind of unusual.

And I immediately was like, oh, boy, what's going on?

And she didn't give me any intros.

She didn't do any notes.

She didn't say sit down.

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