Of the many amazing things I have encountered on this journey - many which I would never have anticipated - one of them is starting of the “Facing Grief - The Podcast” on August 12, 2020.
Truly this is one of the least likely things I could have ever thought I would do - yet as of today Episode 9 is being released.
The podcast is a natural extension of my reading the essays out loud for comfort and to help me verbalize thoughts that I could never face in any other way. So when the idea came - it just made perfect sense.
I selected the first 12 and proceeded to put each episode together. Each one is not that long - most are no longer than 10 minutes. I would record a little extra beginning and ending segment to accompany the essay being read that week and then package all of it up with an Introduction and a conclusion.
The world of podcasts is quite vast and in a way - quite easy to enter. Exposing the material to other access points is also quite easy. As of now I have the host site - called Soundcloud. Then linkages to Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Podcasts for the present time.
And the most amazing aspect of all of this? At first I was thrilled to find it being listened to. This is not any viral phenomena - because this topic is not one you would just “stumble” upon. No - this is a topic that you have to be actively looking for, actively seeking.
The amazing element that surfaced was that each time I found that an episode had been listened to - my heart was touched and humbled.
My goal was to help someone else in this uninhabitable world of grief - find some comfort - some reassurance - some validation to strengthen them in their journey. My biggest objective was that they would be able to see God in their life and have that awareness strengthen them.
As the weeks unfolded what became even more meaningful to me - were the references to the podcast being played in other countries! Seeing the locations over time became a constant encouragement to me. Validation that someone - somewhere was hearing a message of comfort, a message of hope as well as references to something greater than themselves and the horrible place in which they had been forced to live in. The place that I have been privileged to be freed from over these past six months.
And so, after having lived in the most depressing of realities for so many months - to have a sense that there was some person hearing the words I was reading to them - began to bring something new to my world of grief - encouragement. I will never meet the people who are listening and knowing that another human being is sharing these podcasts - drinking in not only what I have written - but God’s love that is subtly a part of all that I have been writing - is simply amazing to me.
So as life slowly tumbles forward, I can rest in a new revelation - while I have been alone with my loss - there is now an amazing new development - others are joining me in my journey. And that fact is more comforting than you could ever know.
“Facing Grief - The Podcast” Listener log from August 12th to October 7th 2020
There have been 168 plays in this time period - 117 of those in the United States. The remaining international plays are listed below.
Bangladesh - Chittagong
Belgium - Brussels
Germany - Stuttgart, Wuppertal, Bremen, Berlin
Greece - Athens
India - Mumbai
Israel - Tel Aviv
Ireland - Dublin
Netherlands - Roosendaal
Russian Federation - Moscow
South Africa - Pretoria
Spain - Baranain, Chiclana De La Frontera
United Kingdom - Rochdale, Coventry
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