{"id":307197,"date":"2021-08-12T07:00:05","date_gmt":"2021-08-12T11:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/a-wynter-memorial\/"},"modified":"2021-08-12T07:00:05","modified_gmt":"2021-08-12T11:00:05","slug":"a-wynter-memorial","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/a-wynter-memorial\/","title":{"rendered":"A Wynter Memorial"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wynter was the wife of Jonathan Pitts. Today, he reflects on their love story, their last work together as a couple, and the ways that God showed him love after her passing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":294104,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"https:\/\/mp3.familylife.com\/fl2021-08-12.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:26:14","filesize":"24.02M","filesize_raw":"25183555","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[10442,2837],"tags":[6999,6765],"podcast_series":[8465],"cwp_profile":[9536],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-307197","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-death-of-a-spouse","category-fathers","tag-gods-comfort","tag-grieving-children","podcast_series-my-wynter-season","cwp_profile-jonathan-pitts","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg?w=508","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/02\/image-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/307197\/a-wynter-memorial","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/307197\/a-wynter-memorial","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303?mt=2&app=podcast","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-today","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"4xrwPOBoal\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/a-wynter-memorial\/\">A Wynter Memorial<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/a-wynter-memorial\/embed\/#?secret=4xrwPOBoal\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;A Wynter Memorial&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"4xrwPOBoal\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg",508,508,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"kfairris@familylife.com","author_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/author\/kfairrisfamilylife-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Wynter was the wife of Jonathan Pitts. Today, he reflects on their love story, their last work together as a couple, and the ways that God showed him love after her passing.","meta_box":{"show_notes":"","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylife.com\/fl2021-08-12.pdf","transcript_content":"<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> If you could pick any movie to go to, what genre\/what kind of movie would you go to?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> Okay, this is going to sound crazy\u2014I think you already know this\u2014but either a movie about war and warriors, which is weird for a woman; <em>or<\/em> who can pass up a great love story?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Yes; I mean it is strange\u2014I guess not strange\u2014but you <em>love<\/em> guy movies, where there\u2019s a <em>conflict<\/em>.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> Well, there\u2019s a great <em>leader<\/em> and the people will follow.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> That\u2019s because you\u2019re married to one.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> That\u2019s it!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Is that what it is? [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> That\u2019s it; yes!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWelcome to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>, where we want to help you pursue the relationships that matter most. I\u2019m Ann Wilson.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> And I\u2019m Dave Wilson, and you can find us at FamilyLifeToday.com or on our FamilyLife<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> app.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> This is <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> I <em>love<\/em> a love story as much as anything I\u2019d ever go to. Today, we\u2019re going to enter into a love story.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> Yes, a great love story. Great love stories usually have some sort of angst in them; we\u2019re going to discover that today as well.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Yes, we have Jonathan Pitts with us today. Welcome to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>, Jonathan.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> It\u2019s good to be back with you guys.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> \u2014\u201cback with us,\u201d I know. You\u2019ve been with us before.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Was it two years ago? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> Yes, a little more than two years; it would have been February of \u201919.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann: <\/strong>Okay.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> It was, I think, our first month or so of doing\/hosting with Bob Lepine for <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>; we were brand new. Your love story was\/it\u2019s remarkable. Now, you have a book about it called <em>My Wynter Season. <\/em>We\u2019ll explain what Wynter means\u2014it\u2019s spelled a little different than you would think for the season\u2014<em>Seeing God\u2019s Faithfulness in the Shadow of Grief<\/em>.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI know you\u2019re in Nashville. You\u2019re with Church of the City there\u2014you\u2019ve been executive pastor there\u2014I know you\u2019re in a different role there now. But how many daughters; four?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> Four girls, yes: seventeen, fourteen, twins that are eleven right now.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> You\u2019re a busy, busy guy.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> Busy world; all-girl home\u2014lots of estrogen\u2014lots of fun. [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> \u2014which is interesting\/little tidbit\u2014I know a lot of you have watched <em>The War Room<\/em>. The daughter in that movie, to Priscilla Shire, was your oldest daughter. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> Yes, Alena Pitts played Danielle Jordan\u2014I think her name was\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> \u2014if I remember correctly, yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> She was <em>great<\/em> in that movie. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> And Priscilla, your cousin\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> \u2014was incredible in it, as well.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> Feels like a whole season ago\/whole life ago.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> Yes, I bet.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> But it was an awesome time; yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave: <\/strong>Yes, talk about that; because we\u2019re not here really to talk about <em>The War Room<\/em>\u2014although we just gave it a nice plug\u2014but <em>My Wynter Season<\/em> is spelled W-Y-N-T-E-R. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Tell us the story, because some of our listeners do not know.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> I\u2019ll just start by saying, in September of 2001, my Wynter season began. I met a young lady named Wynter Danielle Evans, who I\u2019d fallen in love with in college. I remember\u2014I\u2019ll never forget being at a party; it was right after 9-11 happened\u2014that was this party on my college campus just to kind of give everybody a little life back. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI would meet her on the porch at this party that neither of us had any business of being at, but we were there. I would get her number, and I\u2019d never call her. Eventually, she\u2019d walk up to me on campus\u2014she\u2019s a spunky girl\u2014and she said, \u201cWhy haven\u2019t you called me yet?\u201d [Laughter] I was like, \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d A couple of days later, I called her. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tOn our first date, which was <em>Monsters, Inc<\/em>., a movie\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> \u2014<em>Monsters, Inc<\/em>.; great movie!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> \u2014Monsters, Inc., yes\u2014anyway, that was our first date. We\u2019d get engaged after seven months. We\u2019d be engaged for a year and got married two weeks after we graduated from college. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe would have our first daughter, Alena, who you were just talking about, and then our life would take us to Texas. We went to visit Wynter\u2019s uncle, who happened to be a pastor of a church\u2014a guy named Tony Evans, who a lot of your listeners will know\u2014I had no idea who Tony Evans was. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> You really didn\u2019t.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> No, I had no idea. My mom had heard him on radio before, but I didn\u2019t know. I didn\u2019t really realize he ran like a small village in Texas in Dallas. [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> Jonathan, talk about your faith back then. Where were you, spiritually, and Wynter too.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> Wynter and I met each other at a place and time, where actually God would use us to grow each other up. We both grew up in Christian homes, believed in God deeply, and were just walking in a, I guess I\u2019d say, kind of a lukewarm place. God would use each of us to draw each other back to Him and challenge each other, which we would do for the rest of our lives together. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe went to Dallas on vacation and would never come back. Wynter was a great writer; and Dr. Evans was looking for a great writer. I was in pharmaceutical sales; my company down-sized, which gave me an opportunity to think about: \u201cWhat\u2019s next?\u201d We would move to Dallas, on a whim and a prayer, against our family\u2019s better wishes\/the rest of our family. We would end up being in Dallas for 14 years. She worked as a great writer for a couple of years there. Then she would start a ministry called <em>For Girls Like You<\/em>, a magazine for tween girls; there\u2019s a whole long story for that. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI would end up being in ministry with the Evanses: I would be Anthony Evans\u2019 manager for seven years; I\u2019d run Dr. Tony Evans\u2019 national ministry for seven years; and would spend fourteen years in the Evans\u2019 brand of ministry, I\u2019d call it. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWynter was growing her ministry. We were starting to do stuff together\/write together. God would just give us ministry\u2014really our last five years of marriage; kind of giving away a little bit of the story\u2014but our last five years of marriage would be spent doing ministry together: we\u2019d write a parenting book together; we\u2019d write a marriage book together. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tReally, early on in 2018, it felt like God was calling us into a new season. I had an opportunity to go pastor in Nashville at Church of the City; so together, we would accept that role. Together, we would buy our home in Franklin, Tennessee, in July 10 of 2018. Then got our girls enrolled in school, and we\u2019d go back to Dallas. It was back in Dallas for our last week there\u2014my last week of work\u2014that Wynter would\u2014in her cousin, Priscilla Shire\u2019s ministry space\/guest space, where we were staying\u2014she would breathe her last breath. She\u2019d have a heart dysrhythmia.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThis woman, who I had literally been married to, at that point, 15 years and 27 days\u2014we were 27 days past our 15-year anniversary\u2014would pass away in my arms as I desperately tried to save her life; the most traumatic experience of my life. Hopefully, it will always be that; and traumatic for my girls, as well. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tTrying to tell the story in a preview kind of way here; but ultimately, we would continue on. We would bury Wynter in Dallas, and we would move on to Nashville. For the last three years, I will have been single dad, raising my girls, trying to get them through their grief\/getting myself through mine. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI would say, at this point, we\u2019re as healed as we\u2019ll ever be. There\u2019s always going to be a part of us that lived that experience: I\u2019ve lost my first wife and my girls have lost their mom. The thing I\u2019ve realized about grief is it never fully goes away. With each new life thing, there\u2019s always some implication, based on where you\u2019ve been. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> I would especially think that\u2019s true, based on your girls, as they\u2019re getting older and they\u2019re hitting milestones; like, \u201cWynter would have <em>loved<\/em> to have seen this.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan: <\/strong>Yes, my oldest girl just turned 17\u2014 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> \u2014big milestone\u2014probably the hardest thing about that for her is her mom not being there for that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> Take us back to that time; because when we had you a couple of years ago, you had just finished a book, <em>with<\/em> Wynter, about marriage. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> Yes, I was actually with you guys six months after she passed away. What\u2019s crazy is\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> It was that soon?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> Yes, the day that she passed away, it was a Tuesday of my last week of work at the Urban Alternative with Dr. Evans. The last thing I did before leaving that office was sign the final edited manuscript of our marriage book and would email that on. I forged her signature and emailed it on to our publisher. I would go home from there; she would pass away in my arms. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhat I would realize is that book would actually become kind of a time capsule of our life together\/our marriage together. We actually published the book six months <em>after<\/em> she passed away. For me, just a time capsule and a reminder of how good God is just to give us good things. You think about Job and \u201cThe Lord gives; the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord [Job 1:21].\u201d I really have tried to have that heart posture all of this time. Turning that book in was just a reminder to me of: \u201cGod is good. He\u2019s got plans. You don\u2019t know what His plans are going to look like, but He\u2019s always good.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> I <em>love<\/em> hearing that from you, because how old was Wynter?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> Thirty-eight.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> She\u2019s 38 with 4 young girls. I\u2019m sure that there was a part of you that thought, \u201cLord, what are You doing?\u201d Did you have that at all? How did you get through that?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> I really <em>didn\u2019t<\/em> have a lot of that, not because I didn\u2019t wonder what God is doing, but I\u2019m telling you\u2014from the very beginning, and I don\u2019t think He does this for everybody, but for me\u2014that\u2019s why the subtitle of the book is <em>Seeing God\u2019s Faithfulness in the Shadow of Grief<\/em>\u2014God was literally opening my eyes to things that He was doing that were just so big and so immense, in terms of His goodness, even in the middle of the hardest time of my life. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tMe, even turning that book in, there was no coincidence in my mind that the day that she died I signed the final edited manuscript of that book and turned it in. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> There was no coincidence that we were just moved out of our home\/sold our home\u2014left, literally, this life we had built together\/this life that we had\u2014to go to a new place. God was like, \u201cI\u2019m putting you on a new journey; it\u2019s going to be different.\u201d The book is really packed with story after story of me seeing how good and kind God was in the middle of the hardest season of my life.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> Share some of those stories.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> Yes, I\u2019ll never forget the day before Wynter\u2019s funeral\u2014it was a Friday\u2014and I was in\/we were staying in my brother-in-law\u2019s house. I just couldn\u2019t go back to the house that she passed away in, so we were at my brother-in-law\u2019s house\/her brother\u2019s house. He had just moved\u2014even this\u2014he had just moved to Dallas, from Baltimore, where they grew up together, two-and-a-half years before she passed and felt like the Holy Spirit told them to move to Dallas. He didn\u2019t have a job. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Really.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> He, literally, quits his job; and the day he goes in to quit his job, he gets told that he\u2019s being let go and gets a severance package. [Laughter] \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Really.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> It\u2019s like God\u2019s drawing them to Dallas; so we get to spend a little over two years with my brother-in-law\/my sister-in-law, who really was like a father to her\u2014because her dad was a drug addict\u2014and he was five years older. He became like a father figure to her in a way; one of my best friends and a brother to me now.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tTrying to remember the story I was just telling. [Laughter] I\u2019m at his house, and I\u2019m just overwhelmed. All these people are in the home. It\u2019s a hot Texas day, and I\u2019m just feeling like I\u2019m suffocating; so I go out of the house. Sadly, it\u2019s 107 degrees outside; because it\u2019s July in Texas. I get outside, and I can\u2019t find any shade. There\u2019s not a lot of trees in his property; so I kneel down beside a fence, just trying to get some peace. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI turn on my Spotify and the first thing playing is this little music piece called <em>Moving On<\/em>; it\u2019s Steven Furtick talking about Jacob. It says: \u201cJacob buried Rachel. He set a memorial and then he moved on.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave: <\/strong>That\u2019s what you listened to.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> That\u2019s what I listened to. It\u2019s the day before I\u2019m going to bury Wynter. He\u2019s basically talking about this idea of: Jacob buried Rachel, this woman he loved. He set a memorial\u2014he didn\u2019t forget; he marked her tomb; he marked that spot, never to forget\u2014and then he moved on. But he moved on because he had a place to go\u2014he had a place to get his sons\u2014like God had a plan. He moved on, because there was purpose in his next steps. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI\u2019m telling you, in that moment, the Holy Spirit was telling me: \u201cYou\u2019re going to do the same thing. I\u2019ve got a plan for you. These girls have a place to get to. You don\u2019t know why I took Wynter. He [Jacob] didn\u2019t know why I took Rachel. But ultimately, I\u2019ve got a good plan, and you\u2019re going to go to that place.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIt was like this moment of just being like\u2014God just gave me this massive\u2014I mean, how many stories are there like that in the Bible? And how many preachers are there that preaches on this story? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> And it just happens to be on your Spotify. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> \u2014happens to be on my Spotify. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI would play that thing over and over again, over the next several months, and just <em>know<\/em> that God had a plan. Sadly, that plan for me started with, just like anybody else, a bunch of grief and a bunch of unknown\/a bunch of darkness\u2014all the things you walk through when you lose a loved one\u2014especially a loved one that close. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tReally, for me, it wasn\u2019t a lot of anger; I didn\u2019t really ever have a lot of anger. But I was gripped with fear; it was hard for me to sleep at night. Even thinking about, as a husband, you lose your wife\u2014it\u2019s a woman that you are protecting\u2014and all of a sudden, you leave the hospital; you leave her body, and it\u2019s going to go to the morgue. It\u2019s just really\/it can be really dark; that was really dark for me.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> At the same time, you have four daughters.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> \u2014four girls, yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> So you\u2019ve got to take care of and like you can\u2019t sit too long.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI do want to say this, as I hear that moment with that message: many times, when we go through really, really hard things, here\u2019s the questions I think we have: \u201cGod, do You see? Do You know? Are You here? Do You care?\u201d Again, for a listener that\u2019s listening right now, who\u2019s going through some dark valley, it\u2019s a reminder: \u201cYes, He does see. He does know. He is with you. He is there.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> Yes, it\u2019s almost like\u2014instead of asking, \u201cGod, do You see?\u201d\u2014we should be asking ourselves, \u201cDo we see?\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI think about Philippians 4\u2014it\u2019s been really impactful in my life recently\u2014but \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tPhilippians 4:8, Paul said, \u201cWhatever is true, whatever is right, whatever is honorable, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, whatever is excellent, think about these things.\u201d Before that, he says, \u201cRejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice [Philippians 4:4\u201d; and then he goes on to say that. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tPaul\u2019s in prison, writing to a persecuted church, telling them to see what\u2019s true, and right, and pure, and honorable, and lovely, and excellent. He\u2019s saying that, because he knows those things are there. He\u2019s basically asking them to question: \u201cDo you see what is actually there?\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Wow!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> I feel like, if nothing else, my story\u2019s been one of God somehow helping me to see a bunch of big things. They\u2019re actually so big I\u2019d be an idiot not to see them, but maybe so somebody else can actually even be encouraged to <em>look<\/em> for those things; because they were really evident in my life. God\u2019s always moving\u2014for His children, He\u2019s always moving; He\u2019s always encouraging\u2014there\u2019s always a reality behind the reality. Dr. Evans always says, \u201cIf all you see is what you see, you\u2019ll never see all there is to be seen,\u201d\u2014 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> That\u2019s good.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> \u2014like, \u201cHow do you see beyond what you see?\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tFor me, God\u2019s made it really clear and really evident, even in my loss. That\u2019s Paul\u2019s encouragement to us: \u201cSee what\u2019s actually true.\u201d The truth is Wynter passed away, which was really hard for me; but the hardest day of my life was actually the most glorious day of hers. If the only truth I see is that I lost my loved one, I\u2019m not going to see the full truth\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> \u2014when in reality\u2014\u201cTo be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord [2 Corinthians 5:8],\u201d\u2014that\u2019s what Paul says. If that\u2019s actually part of the reality, there\u2019s a lot more beauty in that day than I could see if I didn\u2019t actually see the full picture. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI\u2019m not trying to make light of loss\u2014because it was the hardest day of my life, hardest year of my life, hardest month of my life, hardest moment of my life, hardest parenting journey I\u2019ve gone through so far\u2014I\u2019m not making light of it. I\u2019m just saying that God is actually there in the middle of it.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Yes, it\u2019s a passage: \u201cWe grieve but we don\u2019t grieve without hope \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t[1 Thessalonians 4:13].\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> As others grieve without hope, you still have hope.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhat about your daughters? Were they able to see any of the kind of things you\u2019re talking about? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> You know, it\u2019s funny. They\u2019re all different; they all experience grief different from me. I think the hardest thing for me to do in my grief\u2014as this type A, driven, Enneagram 3 pastor\u2014is allow my girls just to be themselves. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI found out probably eight months in\u2014I\u2019ll tell this story, because she\u2019s told it before\/my oldest daughter\u2014eight months in to our grieving journey; eight\/nine months in\u2014I\u2019m walking up the stairs of my house. She\u2019s in her bedroom. She\u2019s a quiet girl; she\u2019s laying on her bed. I said, \u201cIs everything okay?\u201d She said, \u201cYes.\u201d She didn\u2019t want to talk, so I just walked in her bedroom. I\u2019m like, \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tShe\u2019s like, \u201cI don\u2019t really want to talk.\u201d I just kept pressing it; kept pressing it. Eventually, she just opens up; and she says\/really vulnerably, she says, \u201cDad, I\u2019m having a hard time believing that God is real; and if He\u2019s real, I\u2019m having a hard time believing that He\u2019s good.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou would have thought the way that I reacted that she was trying to make a personal indictment of <em>me<\/em>; because what I did is took what she said and made that about \u201cHow good of a dad am I being that my daughter can question God\u2019s goodness and God\u2019s reality?\u201d It was actually the first moment, where I realized\u2014I didn\u2019t really have this terminology until probably a month before, because I was in counselling, just with the grief\u2014is I had kind of a codependent relationship with my girls, where if they\u2019re happy, I\u2019m happy; if they\u2019re sad, I\u2019m sad. I couldn\u2019t let them be who they are, because that would impact how I feel about myself. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Right; yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> I couldn\u2019t just lead them without having to manage how they feel. As a dad, the thing I\u2019ve had to do is just let my girls be my girls, trust that God\u2019s got them, pray for them deeply, but also allow them to process. They\u2019ve all processed differently. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tMy oldest daughter\u2014and she\u2019s said this as well; we\u2019ve done a lot of interviews together, so she\u2019s the one I feel safe talking about\u2014but she dealt with a lot of anger\/like anger I never had. She was really angry; she lost her mom, who was really kind of her best friend. Wynter was on <em>The War Room<\/em> set with her and did hair for her and Priscilla. They spent a lot of time\u2014they wrote three books together\u2014they traveled and toured together after all that. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> She lost one of her best friends. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> Yes; in fact, the weekend before Wynter died, they were doing a mom\/daughter conference together. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Wow!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> She had a lot of anger. But what\u2019s really beautiful for me is, a couple of weeks ago, we were doing an interview. I talk a lot about worship; like all I had was worship. In the hardest times, I just worshiped God. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThe person interviewing asked, \u201cAlena, did you worship like your dad?\u201d She was like, \u201cNo, I couldn\u2019t,\u201d\u2014but she said\u2014\u201cBecause he did, and I watched him, I now can,\u201d which was a <em>massive<\/em>\u2014like I didn\u2019t realize the impact\u2014because in those moments\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> You didn\u2019t know in those moments.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> No; I was afraid that I was going to lose my daughter\/that my daughter was going to <em>hate<\/em> God for the rest of her life, and all these different fears that we can have, as parents. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tUltimately\u2014there\u2019s this quote by a psychologist; his name\u2019s Curt Thompson\u2014Curt says, \u201cTo the degree that a parent makes sense of their own story will be to the degree that a child can feel secure in theirs.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIn that moment\u2014the worshipful moments I had\u2014I worshiped; I sang. [Singing excerpt from <em>Great Are You Lord<\/em>]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> I can grab a guitar. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> [Continuing to sing <em>Great Are You Lord<\/em>] I can\u2019t sing.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> No, that\u2019s really good. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan and Dave:<\/strong> [Continuing to sing <em>Great Are You Lord<\/em>]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> I sang that in her [Wynter\u2019s] ear\u2014 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> \u2014as she\u2019s\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> \u2014yes, in the emergency room. They basically said, \u201cWe had a pulse; we don\u2019t have it. You should come say, \u2018Good-bye.\u2019\u201d I sang that in her ear. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe sang <em>Good, Good Father<\/em> as I told my girls about the fact that their mom went home to be with Jesus. That night, at my brother-in-law\u2019s house, we sang a bunch of songs. I didn\u2019t know what to say, so we just worshiped. That\u2019s, literally, all I\u2019ve had. In the hardest moments of my life, I\u2019ve had worship. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tFor me\u2014finding out later that me owning my story\u2013what that looked like was me just worshiping God when I didn\u2019t understand. That\u2019s what Job did. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> I\u2019m not comparing myself to Job; but the reality is: \u201cGod gives; God takes away [Job 1:21].\u201d We don\u2019t understand when He gives; we don\u2019t understand when He takes away\u2014but we better worship Him in both\u2014because He\u2019s the <em>author<\/em> of both of those things.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe\u2019ve worshiped. I\u2019m just really grateful that\u2014I didn\u2019t know it then\u2014but that <em>did<\/em> make a difference in my daughter\u2019s life. She can worship now in the joy that she\u2019s finding\u2014that even, at times, she feels <em>guilty<\/em> for finding\u2014as a daughter, who\u2019s having to move into a new season of life.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBut they\u2019ve all grieved really differently; they all grieve differently still. Even on, whether it be birthdays or holidays, you just don\u2019t know what to expect. What I\u2019ve decided now is: \u201cWhatever it is, I\u2019m just going to sit in it with them.\u201d That\u2019s really compassion\u2014you just sit with somebody else in their pain\u2014and they\u2019ve sat with me in mine. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> It is interesting\u2014isn\u2019t it?\u2014to think about what you just shared. I think we can miss this. If somebody is struggling\u2014maybe it\u2019s your daughter or somebody\u2014and they\u2019re struggling with the goodness of God, we often think, \u201cI need to teach theology. I need to show them Scripture. I need to make a case that He is still good; here it is\u2026\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYet, what hit your daughter was her dad worshiping the God she wasn\u2019t sure was good. Again, I can talk about the power of worship. There\u2019s something beyond the spoken word\u2014it\u2019s emotive; it\u2019s the feelings are involved; maybe the body\u2019s\u2014I mean, I know that when Ann\u2019s sister died, we talked about this recently, we would just worship at church and just <em>bawl<\/em>. You <em>feel<\/em>!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThat\u2019s <em>amazing<\/em> that your daughter\u2019s watching that\u2014and that\u2019s what she points to\u2014to say, \u201cThis is what brought me back, watching Dad worship.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> Yet, Dave, I was thinking, so often, especially as our kids get older, we want to have all the right words; we want to have all the right theology; we want to have all the bright discussions. Sometimes all it takes is us living it\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> \u2014and them watching us love God, love others, and worship. I asked one of our kids one time, \u201cDo you remember anything I taught you biblically?\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHe goes, \u201cNot really,\u201d which was so <em>depressing<\/em> to me. [Laughter] But he goes, \u201cBut what I do remember is I remember watching you cry and have your hands lifted up in worship. I remember watching you on your knees, on the deck, worshiping.\u201d He goes, \u201cThose are the things I remember.\u201d He said, \u201cI remember\u201d\u2014it makes me cry; he said\u2014\u201cI remember thinking, \u2018Whatever she has, I want that.\u2019\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> Wow; wow; yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> That\u2019s what I\u2019m <em>imagining<\/em> with your girls: \u201cWhatever you have, Dad, it\u2019s getting you through. We want that.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> It\u2019s, literally, all I had; it\u2019s all we <em>ever<\/em> have. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> It\u2019s all we ever have.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> It\u2019s\/you know, worship\u2014I heard Dr. Evans\/I was listening to him last night\u2014define worship as basically just acknowledging and celebrating who God is\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> \u2014even when we don\u2019t understand.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> It isn\u2019t always even singing. But I would just say to the listener, who\u2019s struggling right now, \u201cWorship God.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> If you can\u2019t even sing out the words, or speak them, <em>listen<\/em> to it. Just shut out the world, put on a worship tape\u2014whatever\u2014and just say, \u201cGod, I\u2019m going to worship You, even when it\u2019s really hard,\u201d because it <em>changes<\/em> something in us. It might be the greatest action step.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> It allowed Jonathan, as you were saying earlier, to look for God. You <em>saw<\/em> Him.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> We can really be <em>looking<\/em> for God, even in our hardest moments. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> I think about the response of Job in the middle of his trials and his tragedies. He was the one who turned and said ultimately, \u201cBlessed be the name of the Lord \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t[Job 1:21].\u201d Even in the midst of the grief and the sorrow, he did what Dave Wilson was talking about there; he praised God.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe\u2019ve been hearing today from Jonathan Pitts describing the season that God has brought him through, and is still bringing him through, the season after the loss of his wife, Wynter. In fact, Jonathan calls this his Wynter season; and it\u2019s a reflection on going through a season of loss and of grief.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe\u2019ve got Jonathan\u2019s book available in our <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> Resource Center. You may know someone, who is in a similar season. Jonathan\u2019s book would be a help\/would be an encouragement. You may want to get it and give it as a gift\/share it with them. We\u2019ve got copies in our <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> Resource Center. Order it from us online on FamilyLifeToday.com; or call to order: 1-800-FL-TODAY is the number. Again, the book by Jonathan Pitts is called <em>My Wynter Season<\/em>. You can order it from us at FamilyLifeToday.com, or call 1-800-358-6329 to order; 1-800-\u201cF\u201d as in family, \u201cL\u201d as in life and then the word, \u201cTODAY.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI know it would not be surprising for many of you to know that a program, like the one we\u2019ve listened to today, God uses these programs in remarkable ways in people\u2019s lives. We often hear from people, who will write to us and say, \u201cThat\u2019s just what I needed to hear at the exact moment I needed to hear it.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe want to say, \u201cThank you,\u201d to those of you who partner with us to make the ministry of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> possible. You have no idea the hundreds of thousands of people, who are being touched and who are being impacted, as a result of your investment in the expansion of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>. Every time you give, you are helping us reach more people more often\u2014helping us effectively develop godly marriages and families\u2014and we are so grateful for that. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIn fact, if you\u2019re a regular listener, and you\u2019ve not made a donation in a while or maybe you\u2019ve <em>never<\/em> donated to support <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>, when you make a donation today, we\u2019d like to send you a couple of books that we talked about already this week. Matt and Lisa Jacobson have written books on ways that we can express love to our children: <em>100 Ways to Love Our Sons<\/em> and <em>100 Ways to Love Our Daughters<\/em>. We\u2019ll send you their books as our way of saying, \u201cThank you for your partnership with us in the ministry of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u201d You can donate online at FamilyLifeToday.com, or call 1-800-FL-TODAY to donate. We look forward to hearing from you. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe also hope you can join us, again, tomorrow when we\u2019re going to hear, among other things, how Jonathan Pitts\u2019 church came around him and helped him during his\u2014what he calls his Wynter season\u2014when his wife passed away. I hope you can tune in for that. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tOn behalf of our hosts Dave and Ann Wilson, I\u2019m Bob Lepine. We\u2019ll see you back next time for another edition of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> is a production of FamilyLife; a Cru<sup>\u00ae <\/sup>Ministry. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHelping you pursue the relationships that matter most.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<sup>\u00a9<\/sup>Song: <em>Great Are You Lord<\/em> \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tArtists: David Leonard, Jason Ingram, Leslie Jordan\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAlbum: <em>All Sons and Daughters<\/em> \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe are so happy to provide these transcripts to you. However, there is a cost to produce them for our website. If you\u2019ve benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider <a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/donate\">donating today<\/a> to help defray the costs?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tCopyright <sup>\u00a9<\/sup> 2021 FamilyLife. 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