From The Heart Of Ken Shiplet When tragedy strikes, it’s natural to want to blame. We often blame ourselves as well as others. I have rehearsed over and over what I or others could have done to make the outcome of losing Carol different. This is a time when we say, “If only,” “Why didn’t […]

From The Heart Of Ken Shiplet I’m struggling with the loss of my personal identity. Now, I’m not talking about my spiritual identity. We, who are believers, are adopted children of God because of the work of Jesus on the cross. That is a given. I’m talking about the way in which I personally identify […]

From The Heart Of Ken Shiplet Many people are uncomfortable and don’t know what to say or do around a friend who is in grief. Consequently, they say too much or the wrong things or both. Their many words don’t help and the wrong thing said certainly doesn’t help. The reality is that many can […]

From The Heart Of Ken Shiplet It’s been one month today since Carol went to be with the Lord. When people ask me how I’m doing, my standard answer is “I’m fine and then I’m not and then I am and then I’m not and then I am.” Last Friday, I was not fine. By […]

From The Heart Of Ken Shiplet People grieve in different ways. There is no set time for how long we should grieve, and no set way for how to express our grief. With all of my being, I want to live in denial of what has happened. I still can’t believe that I no longer […]

From The Heart Of Ken Shiplet It’s been a while since I have shared anything. Probably partly out of depression and also because I’m having a hard time conveying the thoughts I’m about to write. I’ve been encouraged by many to put what I’ve been writing in a booklet form. When I do, I may […]

From The Heart Of Ken Shiplet Cremation never entered Carol’s and my mind until a few years ago when our dear friend, Burl Mackey shared his burial intentions. He was days away from his death from pancreatic cancer when he said something like this to me. “Now Ken, this is what I’m going to do. […]

From The Heart Of Ken Shiplet When I talked about moving forward, I said I was going to make a wall designated as “Carol’s Wall.” That wall is nearly complete. I built a 4 X 6 foot frame on the wall and painted it white. Then, I painted the wall inside the frame purple (Carol’s […]

From The Heart Of Ken Shiplet Part of my “moving forward” was to buy a little sports car. I tell everyone that I’m going to live to be 150, so this brand new Mazda MX5 Miata is my mid-life crisis car. This is the fourth convertible that I’ve owned. When Carol and I married, we […]

From The Heart Of Ken Shiplet One year ago today Carol fell asleep on this earth and woke up in heaven, in the presence of the Lord. I’ve been in a constant deep grief mode since the first of the year, unable to quit recalling the struggles we went through, especially the last twenty-five days […]