Preston Parrish - Finding Hope in Times of Grief

Grief is never invited. It shows up at the most unexpected times, and leaves us with a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. Preston and Glenda Parrish have walked the road of grief and in their pain have found hope. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has had an encounter with grief.

GARY CHAPMAN, AUTHOR OF T HE F IVE L OVE L ANGUAGES

Preston and Glenda Parrish have lived through what no parent ever wants to experiencethe loss of a child. The key is how they have lived through grief that had the potential of paralyzing the progress of life. God intends for us to press on. He is the source of strength that points us forward through assurance that the Savior and Comforter the Lord Jesus Christ walks with us through every dark valley, teaching us how to look beyond our own grief so that we can reach out to others who may not know where to turn when their time of grief strikes. Delve into the richness of Gods promises through their story of Finding Hope in Times of Grief.

FRANKLIN GRAHAM, PRESIDENT & CEO BILLY GRAHAM EVANGELISTIC ASSOCIATION, SAMARITANS PURSE

Life presents unprecedented pain when experiencing the sudden death of someone precious. Preston and Glenda Parrish have learned this lesson firsthand in the untimely death of their son, Nathan. Because of Gods faithfulness, they discovered that death ushers you to a front row seat of Gods unending mercy and grace. I rejoiced reading their book and remembered vividly my own parallel experience of the darkest moments of despair and the hope found in the holy intimacy with God. He healed my broken heart and bound up my wounds after the sudden, tragic death of my astronaut husband. May you be encouraged and filled with hope as you read this wonderful book.

EVELYN HUSBAND THOMPSON, WIDOW OF COLUMBIA SPACE SHUTTLE COMMANDER, RICK HUSBAND

Are your thoughts over the loss of someone dear to you paralyzing you? Do you feel hopeless in facing the cold, hard reality of your loss? Preston and Glenda have personally found that HOPE in Gods faithfulness in their tragic loss really does exist and can be known in the midst of deep grief. Their honesty, transparency, faith, and perseverance will bless, strengthen, encourage, and help you during your hard moments and difficult days.

JOSEPH NORTHCUT, DIRECTOR OF CHURCH MINISTRIES, GRIEFSHARE.ORG

If youve ever sat at a graveside, heartbroken and lost, this is the book for you. With tender grace and deep authenticity, the Parrishes will walk with you through the rocky roads of grief. This book is a treasure of truth written by those who understand that dance between sorrow and hope.

LYSA TERKEURST, AUTHOR OF WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WOMEN SAY YES TO GOD AND MADE TO CRAVE

I can think of several families right now that I want to hand this book to. Preston and Glenda have shared so openly and honestly about their own tragedy and grief. In a word, this book is REAL. Real with the pain we feel when we lose someone we love. And real with the hope we have in the God of comfort.

MATTHEW WEST, GRAMMY NOMINEE AND DOVE AWARD WINNER, SINGER AND SONGWRITER

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Verses marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

Verses marked AMP are taken from The Amplified Bible, Copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Cover by e210 Design, Eagan, Minnesota

Cover photoCorbis Photography / Veer

FINDING HOPE IN TIMES OF GRIEF

Copyright 2011 by Preston and Glenda Parrish
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Parrish, Preston

Finding hope in times of grief / Preston and Glenda Parrish.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-0-7369-3075-8 (pbk.)

1. Consolation. 2. ChildrenDeathReligious aspectsChristianity. 3. Parrish, Nathan, 1980-2006Death and burial. 4. Parrish, Preston. 5. Parrish, Glenda. I. Parrish, Glenda. II. Title.

BV4907.P27 2011

248.8'66dc22

2010015984

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 / VP-NI / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

With gratitude to God for Nathan

Because he is Home safe, we do not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.

1 Thessalonians 4:13

We want to express our deepest love for Hannah, Gregory, and JesseRuth, who have walked through grief and found hope together with us. Their prayers, understanding, patience, and support are gifts from our heavenly Father. They have their own stories to tell, which well let them do in their own way and time.

G RIEF IS not pretty.

We dont like to think about it, and in our societyand even in the churchwe go to great lengths to avoid it, or at least to dress it up as best we can.

Yet no matter how we try to insulate ourselves from it, its impossible to get past the fact that none of us is immune to grief. When it does finally hit us and throw our lives into anguished upheaval, the pressing question becomes, how do we deal with it?

In the course of dealing with our own personal sorrow, we have walked through many hard moments and difficult days. Some of the time, our walk has been in full view of others, and were sure their assessment of us has indeed been not pretty. Guess whatoften, what others have not seen has been even less pretty.

In one sense, it would have been easier just to leave things there: whatever people have seen and thought, theyve seen and thoughtwhatever people havent seen, so much the better. Doing so would have spared us from further scrutiny and analysis by people not struggling their way through grief. After all, who likes to embarrass themselves?