Shocco Springs Baptist Conference Center played host to 32 participants May 3-4 for a Grief Recovery Conference, “Beyond the Shadows: Coping with the Loss of a Spouse.” The conference was a cooperative effort between Shocco Springs and the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions.
Not all of the participants were going through the first few months following the death of a spouse; some came to support a parent or spouse. One young woman attended hoping to help her mother cope with the loss of their father and husband. She left inspired by the conference to create a grief support group in Panama City.
“[The conference] was for me… a time of fellowship and bonding with old and new friends who walk the pathway of grief, a time to encourage those who are in the first days of this painful walk and a time to worship God and thank Him that I’m never alone,” said Mary Alice Wood, a Shocco employee and participant.
D.L. Stiefel, another participant, said that even though it had been 11 months since his wife had died, the first six to eight months after her death were the toughest for him, and he felt it was important to hear from people who were coping with their loss and serving God.
“It has been my observation … that somehow there is a special bond, or at least a more open communication line, between me and someone else who has gone through the loss of a spouse. I guess that was one of the primary reasons I was drawn to the conference in the first place,” Steifel said.
All leaders of the conference had also lost spouses.
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