I had never experienced anything like this before. My son, David Glasser, was a Phoenix Police Officer who was killed in the line of duty on May 18, 2016.

I had no frame of reference for the devastation that happened in my life when Davey died. My entire world turned up side down while my heart broke into a million….painful….pieces. My life became dark and I lost all joy. I didn’t smile very often and, when I did, it was a fake smile I would plaster on my face so people wouldn’t worry about me.

In the midst of the shock and the swirling going on in my head, I made the very good decision to look up to God and let him lead me on this extremely painful path of losing a child. He gave me strength. He gave me peace. He made sure that I knew he loved me with a perfect love….in spite of my circumstances.

There were 2 books other than the Bible that have given me significant help on my tough journey. I blogged about one of them last week. The other book is The Land Between by Jeff Manion. The subtitle is “Finding God in difficult transitions”. Jeff uses the story of the Israelites spending 40 years wandering in the desert and points out the many lessons God was teaching them. They were not lost – they were in an early version of Sunday School. God used this time to grow their faith and grow their knowledge of him.

This is the same for you and me. Most of us at one time or another will end up in a place where life is not what it was and where the future is very uncertain. If you have lost a child you have either been there or are there right now – The Land Between.

I totally related to this after Davey was killed. I was in the desert. A broken, bruised, bleak, desert. I felt lost. My old life was gone and all my dreams of the future with Davey in them were ripped away.

I found a purpose for my pain as I read “The Land Between”. I learned many very valuable truths from God during my time in the desert. I watched God gradually start putting the broken pieces of my life back together, creating a much different picture of my future than I had before.

I am through the desert now and very grateful for all God taught me there. I just published a book on Amazon, “Then I Looked Up: Losing a Child, Finding His Legacy of Love” which includes a lot more of this story if you are interested.

There is still a growing hole in my life where Davey was supposed to be but my memories of my life with him have become more precious than painful.

Miss you, Davey.

Love you!