A Whole New Level of Grief
Run to the Hard Podcast
This is the epic conclusion to our 3 part series with Curtis and Crystal, walking through the absolute "shipwreck" of their lives right now. They're grieving their spouses deaths... Curtis' step-children's dad passes away... Their wedding was canceled... Old grief is being brought to the surface as they navigate death, grief, the legal system... Their ways of managing the overwhelm have them feeling disconnected... There's no way you could make up something like this. It's just too much. And yet... By God's grace, they are here and they keep going. Join me in this final instalment, and...
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When Grief Breaks a Relationship… and God Holds It Together
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Welcome to part 2 of this unbelievable saga. The life of Curtis Christopher, Michal's kids, and Crystal and her kids continues to plunge further into the chaos of unexpected death, compounding grief, triggers, postponed marriage, court dates, and just life with so many moving parts. Today they dive into the difficulty of deciding to postpone a wedding, just days after their court date, blending such a unique family, sacrificial love, obedience to the Lord, and inter-family dynamics. This is a story that would be hard to make up, because it sounds so unbelievable. But by God's grace, Curtis and...
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Five Kids Lose Their Dad Overnight & The Aftermath of Grief
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If you've heard our story and think things have been crazy lately, you haven't heard anything yet. In this episode we walk you through the absolute whirlwind of grief and tragedy we've been walking through the last couple of months, to make things all the more complicated after the last couple of years of grief. From sudden death, to planning a funeral, to postponing our wedding, to lawyers and court dates, to deathversaries making it all the worse. Not much of this story makes sense from our limited human perspective, but God is faithful and we hope sharing this both encourages and...
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Finding Purpose in Grief: JoBeth Evans' Story
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From the grief of being unable to have children, to the joys of adopting and building a picture-perfect life together... Straight into the depths of losing her husband to brain cancer... JoBeth Evan's story is a roller coaster, and she tells it - and lives it - with so much grace and peace. Today's episode is extra impactful because not only does JoBeth have lived experience of deep grief, BUT, she's turned that experience into a way to serve others as a certified grief recovery specialist. She helps others navigate deep grief in a way that keeps them moving forward and honoring the memory of...
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Ep 32: The Weight of Parenting 9 Kids While Grieving Your Wife
Run to the Hard Podcast
You will NOT believe the compounded grief that's just been added to our story. This episode was recorded right before another tragedy, so when we sat down to talk about the overwhelm of 2.5 years of grieving, trying to get your life back on track, guiding and raising 9 children from multiple families, and being weighed down by it all while learning to trust God in the process...we couldn't imagine it could get more complicated. Listen in and be encouraged, because despite everything that's happening, we know God is good, and He is redeeming everything. --- DONATE TO THE MICHAL FOUNDATION: ...
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Ep 31: Trusting God After Losing Your Parents, Marriage, and Ministry with Lonnie Potts
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Lonnie Potts is my favorite preacher. He played an instrumental role in my life as a young father, husband, and professional. I'm thrilled to have him on the podcast today, to honor him, number one, but also to give you hope that when all seems lost...God gives a way forward. Lonnie shares what it's like to experience crushing failure as a Christian, and to turn to God for redemption and healing. Within a very short time, Lonnie lost both parents, his marriage, and the ministry he'd worked so hard to build. But God is good, and failure does NOT define you. --- DONATE TO THE MICHAL FOUNDATION: ...
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Ep 30: Hope For The Abandoned, Betrayed, and Forgotten
Run to the Hard Podcast
Feeling abandoned, betrayed, or forgotten? I know the feeling. And so did Joseph in the Bible. But the story of Joseph, my story, and yes, your story, too, is NOT over no matter how bad things are. God RESTORES. He USES the hard parts of your life. Joseph kept going through all of it and ended up saving not only all of Egypt, but his own family. His household. Keep going, because God hasn't finished your story, yet. (This is a talk Curtis Christopher gave to the students of Ohio Christian University in April 2025.) --- DONATE TO THE MICHAL FOUNDATION: Rate The Podcast: Become a Sponsor: ...
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Ep 29: How to Grieve Your Health After 100 Surgeries
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100 surgeries. Her body is breaking down, making things like work, driving, even turning her head to the side impossible. Yet LeeAnnw is one of the most loving, caring, positive people I've ever met. She's literally my hero because of how much she's gone through...with a smile on her face! LeeAnne's story of grief is not about losing a person, but about losing a future she thought she'd have. Losing mobility, independence...even losing a pain-free life, which most of us just take for granted. Whether you just got bad health news, or you're a caregiver to someone who has, this is an episode...
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Ep: 28 How I Healed After Dad Took His Own Life
Run to the Hard Podcast
Josh's dad took his own life when he was only 6 years old. This leaves a mark on a young boy, and it showed in Josh's life as he pursued partying and drinking. But God is faithful. Even before Josh was a Christian, He put good men in Josh's life. One of which eventually became his father in law! Not to leave a story unfinished, Josh and his wife Leanne moved into a neighborhood FULL of Christians, where Josh went to church for the first time and eventually gave his life to the Lord! This is a story of God's fatherly provision and God's redemption! CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 3:30 The...
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Ep 27: Healing After The Loss of Your Spouse
Run to the Hard Podcast
Curtis and Crystal both traumatically lost their spouses roughly 2 years ago. Their lives were turned upside down. They experienced grief like they didn't know existed. Suddenly everything needed to be rebuilt. Along his grieving journey, Curtis started this podcast to support other grievers. Crystal was one of those early listeners, and felt like Curtis truly saw her in her grief. She reached out. They got talking and developed a friendship. Now? They're getting married! Join Curtis, Crystal, and Chris for this incredibly deep and vulnerable episode, and learn how Curtis and...
info_outlineIn this conversation, Chris and Curtis battle with the harsh questions of who God is after loss and the questions they both have as they try to understand why God allows the hurt and the hard.
The duo discuss the personal experiences of loss and grief in their lives, as well as what Michal taught us with her story of questioning God after the loss of her child.
TIME STAMPS:
01:00 - Baby Jasper’s story
02:30 - Questioning God
03:00 - Pointing people to Christ in the Dark Seasons
04:00 - Chris Reflecting on Losing His Son, Lawson.
09:00 - Numbness after loss
09:30 - Spiritual high during the hope for a miracle
11:00 - Hard Questions about God’s presence in loss.
13:00 - Preparing for a loss vs. the shock of a sudden loss
14:00 - The physical and mental effects of shock after loss
15:30 - Creating a defense mechanism to not feel the grief
18:00 - When it feels like God is off-script
19:00 - Baby Ronnie’s story
22:30 - Going to the hard dark places
23:00 - Finding God for yourself
28:00 - Is God more concerned with bringing us to Him than gaining glory from healing?
30:00 - Eternal perspective
33:00 - How do you see God’s presence in the hard seasons?
34:00 - God is at work even when we don’t feel it
38:30 - Empathizing and understanding others in their grief
40:00 - The discipline of staying in the word in grief
42:00 - Recalling to mind the goodness of God in your past - He’s the same God
47:30 - How do you reconstruct rather than deconstruct your faith after the hard?
49:00 - The untruthful, unscriptural path people can lead you down after death - mediums, guardian angels, tarot cards
52:00 - The crossroads of why we really desire heaven
56:30 - What to do when God's plan doesn't make sense to us.
01:01:00 - Facing that we are fallen humans
01:03:00 - Realizing who you are In Christ
01:04:00 - When we assume God’s plan is our plan
01:07:00 - The harder the things, the harder the task God is calling you to
01:09:30 - The Facebook post that provides spiritual perspective.
01:14:00 - Saying “Your Will be done” even when we don’t feel it
01:14:45 - Why would we ever want to rob our loved ones of heaven?
01:15:30 - Closing prayer
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