In this episode of the While We’re Waiting – Hope After Child Loss podcast, Jill Sullivan begins a two-part conversation with Kirsten Black, author of the Faithful Paradox blog.

Kirsten shares about her son Ezra, a gifted musician and passionate soccer player who had a remarkable ability to make people feel seen and loved. In 2021, Ezra became sick and was eventually diagnosed with leukemia. After a difficult fourteen-month battle that included intense chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, Ezra went to heaven in September of 2022.

About a year and a half later, Kirsten began writing about her grief journey through her blog, Faithful Paradox. In it, she explores the tension many grieving believers experience—the reality that we know God’s promises are true, yet in the middle of suffering those truths can feel confusing, distant, or difficult to reconcile with our pain.

In this first half of our conversation, Kirsten shares about Ezra’s life, his cancer journey, and the honest prayers she wrestled through during those months. We also begin discussing a blog post she wrote titled “10 Things That Are Different From What I Expected,” reflecting on the surprising ways grief reshapes our lives.

Together we explore some of those unexpected realities, including:

• The mistaken belief that grief has a timeline
• How the loss of a child fundamentally changes who we are
• The realization that grief is not just an event—it becomes part of us

Kirsten’s reflections are thoughtful, honest, and deeply relatable for grieving parents who are trying to hold on to faith in the middle of profound loss.

This conversation reminds us that grief and faith often exist together in tension—a faithful paradox.

In the next episode, we’ll continue walking through the rest of Kirsten’s “ten things” and talk about what she has learned in the years since Ezra went to heaven.

Links & Resources

Faithful Paradox Blog: faithfulparadox.com

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** IMPORTANT** - All views expressed by guests on this podcast are theirs alone, and may not represent the Statement of Faith and Statement of Beliefs of the While We're Waiting ministry.

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