Today, September 8, 2024, marks three years since Jesus sent His angels to escort Jasmine to her heavenly home.

In a previous post, I recounted that at 60, God directed Jasmine and me to merge our ministry and life experiences, and we established Shepherds Wellspring Ministries (SWM). Little did I know that another significant change was in my future.

Five years later, at 65, tragedy struck when Jasmine was hospitalized with COVID. During her hospitalization, I began a blog to keep everyone updated on her condition. Blog posts became more than medical updates; I also chronicled the faith lessons God was teaching me through this crisis. After He called Jasmine home, I created another blog to share what God taught me to live anew in the aftermath of my loss.

The blogs during and after this crisis became the core content for my first book, “What Now God? Rising from the Pain of Loss and Learning to Live Again”. Writing about my journey through Jasmine’s illness, passing, and the aftermath was God’s prescription for my healing.

Losing a spouse feels like being robbed of the life we’ve known and our shared dreams for the future. Personally, it meant losing not only my spouse but also my ministry partner. We were a counseling team. Our spiritual gifts complemented each other as we fulfilled our calling from God. But that partnership was no longer to be.

Forced change resulting from a crisis is an unwelcome imposition. But it is also a beginning, not an end. Finding a “new normal” entails discovering opportunities we may have never considered or predicted. One of the most significant discoveries on a healing journey is the restoration of hope—knowing that God’s purpose for living endures despite a life-altering loss.

After publishing “What Now, God?” finding my new normal led me to ask the same question as the book title, What now, God? Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you” (Matt. 7:7 ESV). The tenses in the Greek verbs mean “keep asking … keep seeking … keep knocking.”

I asked, I sought, and I knocked, and I was perplexed when I thought I heard God say, “Write a novel about childhood sexual abuse.” Did I really hear God, or was it a dream from the spicy Korean noodles I ate last night? I would never have come up with that on my own. I shared it with some trusted friends, and their responses confirmed that I had indeed heard from God. The result was writing “Shelley’s Story” and the sequel, “Shelley’s Petals.”

Losing Jasmine rudely disrupted my life, but God’s purpose for me to impact lives for Christ remained intact. When He led me to write “What Now, God?” He pivoted the course of my primary ministry from counseling to writing. (A companion resource book to the “Shelley” novels is in the works.)

No matter what life stage you’re in—single, newlywed, married with children, single parent, empty nester, or widowed—believe this: When you’ve gone through a crisis, it may feel like God’s purpose for living has been lost; it isn’t. Ask, knock, and seek. If you discern God pivoting the course of your journey to a new venture or direction, place your confidence in Him and step out in faith. “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps” (Prov. 16:9 ESV).

Stop and Consider.