By Josephine Lee

Last year, The Master’s University alum Emily Curtis (’09) published a book titled “Hope in the Mourning: A Hope-Filled Guide Through Grief,” which contains both first-hand testimonies of suffering and biblical wisdom for navigating such trials.

Curtis, a stay-at-home mother of four living in North Carolina, had been impacted by a friend whose husband was killed by a drunk driver six weeks into their marriage.

“I really felt burdened to love on her in some way,” Curtis said.

But the geographical distance between them posed a challenge. Curtis felt prompted to start a business she called “Gifts of Hope,” where she created comforting gifts for those suffering loss.

“I interacted with so many different people who were grieving,” Curtis said, “and I saw such a difference between those who weren’t believers — having such anger and bitterness over their sufferings — and then the contrast of believers. Their grief was the same, but their response to it was entirely different. They had a hope and a joy that was still there. I saw how beautiful their stories were, and how redemptive.”

Curtis believed those truths needed to be shared. Over a three-year period, she asked several individuals if they would be willing to tell their stories and compiled them to form the backbone of “Hope in the Mourning.”

Her purpose for the book was threefold.

First, Curtis sought to provide tangible hope for those in the midst of suffering. To complement each story, Curtis added a self-written poem, a passage from Scripture, and a relevant hymn that would encourage the reader.

“The content in between each story is really for the hurting heart,” she said.

Second, Curtis wanted to equip the church to minister to those who are suffering, recognizing that Christians sometimes don’t know how to respond to loss, or how to help someone else experiencing loss.

She said, “Some believers have felt like they could not mourn a loved one because to do so would somehow mean they weren’t trusting in the Lord. And that’s not true. That’s not biblical. The Lord wants us to come to Him with our burdens and our sufferings, trusting that He will redeem that.”

Third, she wanted to demonstrate to a hurting world the depth of the hope believers have.

“As I approached the writers, I asked them to be very authentic in their suffering — not to feel the need to over-spiritualize everything that they said or to minimize their suffering,” Curtis said. “A child lost to a believer is the same pain as a child lost to an unbeliever. But their hope is different. And so an unbeliever can read these stories and say, ‘Wow, they really did suffer.’ They see the authenticity of their grief paired with the authenticity of their hope.”

Since the book’s publication, Curtis has seen those three purposes fulfilled in ways she didn’t anticipate. This year, The Master’s Seminary provided a copy of the book to each of its students in an effort to equip future pastors to counsel those who are suffering.

Curtis said, “Everything that I hoped it would be, every purpose that I hoped it would serve, the Lord has gone before us and opened those paths. It’s been very humbling for me to see how the Lord uses it.”

Learn more about “Hope in the Mourning” here. All of the proceeds from the book go toward supporting bereavement ministries.

Josephine Lee graduated in May as a double major in communication and interdisciplinary studies.