In the fall of 2015, The patriarch of the Stoecklein family died from a long journey with leukemia. In August of 2018, Kayla’s husband unexpectedly died by suicide. She was left with three small boys and a grieving heart. An entire community is grieving these giants who led as Pastors. Kayla shares her healing process and lets us know that finding the light is possible after trauma.
Depression is the number one disability worldwide. 1 in 4 people will contend with it. When someone dies by suicide, those left behind are left holding all of the pain. Mental health issues are difficult to understand because they are invisible. Dealing with mental illness is a team effort, including family support and a full medical team.
Rebuilding life after such a tremendous tragedy can be overwhelming and dark. Our sense of identity can get lost in the shadows of change that rides shotgun with the death of a loved one. It’s crucial as you are grieving that you are creating time for yourself. Journaling your feelings through the process can become a great resource down the road to see how much you have grown. When someone close dies, It changes who you are. When death knocks on your door, you embark on a journey. There is never a destination or ending point when we say goodbye to a loved one. It becomes a process of rebuilding and recreating who we are with a new wound that, over time, becomes a scar. Kayla shares with us how she is leading her boys through this unimaginable time.
How do you show up for someone who is navigating the most challenging time of their life? Just sitting and holding space, and helping to manage the domestic issues can make someone feel so supported and loved. Listening and sitting in the uncomfortable space of pain allows the grieving to feel less alone. Kayla teaches us that the most important thing we can do is run headfirst into the pain. Let the waves of lament crash over you, allow the grief to find its voice, and then find its way out. Better days do exist outside of your pain, but going through is how you emerge and find your new life. Kayla says, “We need to Steward our season well.” The years that come after will bloom.
Kayla and her family have created a website called Gods Got This. Products designed to remind you that you are not alone, behind all of your darkest days, there is a flicker of light. She also writes a beautiful blog that lets us into the most tender moments of healing and grieving.
This beautiful quote by Jerry Sittser, author of “A Grace Disguised: How the Soul Grows through Loss“
“The quickest way for anyone to reach the sun and the light of day is not to run west, chasing after the setting sun, but to head east, plunging into the darkness until one comes to the sunrise.”
Kayla shares this beautiful thought;
“This world is a broken and hurting place, hungry for relief from pain. Our response is to spread a movement of hope to hurting people all around the world with the message that,” “God’s Got This“ and “You Are Not Alone.”
The Alex Project:
text listen to 741741 this gives all youth in crisis the chance to reach life saving help via texting regardless where they live.
https://www.instagram.com/kaylasteck/?igshid=xnxbc73rr1d
https://www.instagram.com/theartofjoypodcast/
Other resources;
National Suicide prevention Lifeline