Christian Widow Support Group: Find Where You Belong | Hope Speaker

Why Every Christian Widow Needs Connection

None of us wanted to join Club Widow. We weren’t asked... In fact, we weren’t actually invited!

One day, the floor dropped out from beneath us, and we found ourselves here… We just arrived.

Most of us found that there was no welcome party, connections or initiation; loneliness was the only one there to greet us.

Widowhood is lonely, isn’t it? Many women begin searching for a Christian widow support group because they desperately need someone who understands. When you lose your beloved, the person in the world who really saw you and knew you, you feel invisible in a whole new way.

Then you become preoccupied with survival. All the death to-dos, estate plans, financials, perhaps single mothering grieving children. We also lose many relationships we once had, and the unhelpful ways the world responds to our grief can make us inclined to isolate further.

The truth is, we need connection. Desperately. But where do we find it?

Searching for a Place to Belong

The trenches of widowhood can be disorienting. Sometimes it feels like we are giving our all, but we’re not going anywhere. It can become especially disheartening when we try to make connections with others, but they don’t respond or it doesn’t work out.

As a young suicide widow, I felt desperate for help and support, but I didn’t seem to be able to find the relationships I longed for.

I tried many Christian grief support groups, from GriefShare (multiple times) and others to suicide loss groups, and connections with widow groups. But I still struggled to find relatable and reliable connection. I felt ashamed when it seemed I was “too much” for someone to walk alongside me and my children.

I connected with a Christian widow support group, but my efforts to engage and be involved were one-sided (my side), and after many attempts I grew discouraged and disheartened.

My faith was a matter of first importance to me. Jesus was my everything; sometimes He felt incredibly near, but other times, very far. I knew I wanted to get my roots down deeper into a gritty joy and deeper hope. I needed to connect to the Rock (Christ Himself) and what suffering and death could never take from me.

I believe a key in the shift from utter aloneness to the incredible community I have now was persistence. I didn’t allow shame about my situation or hurt from the actions or limitations of others to become my identity. I kept pressing forward toward the body of Christ.

Fast forward years down the road, and I had engaged and befriended so many widow sisters (in person from conferences, retreats, introductions as well as online through a myriad of avenues) that I was overwhelmed by all the relationships!

Still, something was missing. Most connections weren’t at the depth I needed (you also can only have so many of those really deep ones), and I didn’t have a space to integrate these relationships, our faith, and our widowhood journey together.

That was when the Lord gave me a clear message:

Create the Christian widow support group you have been longing to find.

He wanted me to build the community myself.

A widow support group online where Christian widows could come together from all over the world, love Jesus, and widow by faith. To cry, to pray, and to laugh together.

A grief space where we could be raw, honest, and real (not wounded by platitudes), but where we also didn’t circle the drain of hopelessness affirming how terrible it all was for each other, either.

A place where we “grieve with HOPE,” as the Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 4:13.

Often in the real disadvantages of widowhood, we start to have a victim mentality overall—that life is happening to us (usually not very good things). This can easily bleed over into our loneliness, lack of supportive relationships, and the hurts we have felt from the failures or inabilities of others.

But the truth is we get to decide so much about who we want to be and what we want our lives to look like. Relationships, connection, and support are a prime example of this. We can create these things in our widowhood!

Allow me to extend an invitation if you have not found your tribe as a Christian widow yet…

Finding Your Widowhood Sisterhood

The Lord knew I was not the only widow struggling to find Christian widow support and a Christ-centered place of belonging.

Instead of finding this place, He led me to create one… And to pour in resources and guidance for this journey of widowing well.

I had been a hopeless, lonely and lost widow, who had become filled with HOPE, connected and empowered to rebuild a beautiful life with Jesus through this season and into the ones to follow.

No, none of us wanted to join Club Widow. But if you are a widow who wants to navigate this season by faith, there is a Club you do want to join!

I would love to invite you to join us in The HOPE Stronghold, my virtual Christian widow community membership space where you are connected to faith-filled sisters who get it, and evidence-based support from me.

"But the LORD has become my stronghold..." -Psalm 94:22

"For you have been...a stronghold to the needy in distress...a shelter from...the ruthless storm." -Isaiah 25:4

This space is for Christian widows:

• To feel seen, loved, and supported, finding joy in friendships and purpose in your life ahead.

• To be part of something bigger than yourself and the pain.

• To grow in your faith and walk with Jesus.

• To have a path forward to help you navigate grief, healing, and rebuilding your future.

• To have live calls together and be encouraged and motivated by your sisters.

"If you are a widow reading this, I want to encourage you to reach out for hope. Rachel is an incredible guide for widows. The Holy Spirit truly works in and through her to bring encouragement and direction. [She] has challenged me to move forward with confidence and peace through the power of the Holy Spirit. Be encouraged, your time will be well spent in The Hope Stronghold. I hope to meet you there!” -C.S.

Having a space to be seen, loved, supported and prayed over can change everything. That is what our community is about.

“I suddenly don’t feel so alone anymore after making this connection to Rachel’s coaching and community. I know the Lord led me to her.” -K.H.

If you are a widow looking and praying for a Christian widow support group where you truly belong, we would love to welcome you.

Join us HERE

Widowhood may be lonely, but widowing alone is lonelier. It doesn’t have to be that way; we look forward to welcoming you!

With you,

Rachel

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