Three years after her husband Jake died, Ashley Biddick returns to Resilient Souls as a regular contributor, drawing on both her own experience of loss and insights from her professional work as she explores what rebuilding can look like when life has changed.

The focus is on what life looks like beyond the first raw days and weeks, into the months and years that follow when life still hasn’t gone 'back to normal'. Ashley explores the ongoing physical effects of trauma, changed capacity and identity, and some of the secondary losses that can follow a life-changing loss.

She talks about grief and joy coexisting, noticing small “glimmers” of hope, finding people who “speak the language of loss”, and sometimes taking the next step before you feel ready: doing it heartbroken, doing it lonely, doing it scared.

Ashley and Stewart also return to the question of faith and the wrestle with God when suffering doesn’t make sense. There are no neat answers, just a grounded conversation about living with what cannot be changed while making room for what might still be possible. In this episode, you’ll discover:

1. Why there may be no simple “back to normal” after life changing loss, and what rebuilding can look like instead
2. How grief and trauma can continue to affect your body, energy and capacity long after the initial crisis
3. Why major loss can impact your sense of identity, and how to begin making peace with the person you are becoming
4. How grief and joy can coexist, and why small “glimmers” of beauty and hope can matter
5. What it can mean to “do it heartbroken, do it lonely, do it scared” without simply telling yourself to toughen up
6. How friends, community and faith can help when there are no easy answers and the road forward still feels uncertain

… and much more.

Explore More from Resilient Souls:

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Resilient Souls ⁠⁠⁠Podcast⁠⁠⁠ or search ‘Resilient Souls’ wherever you get your podcasts

Resilient Souls ⁠⁠⁠Blog on Substack⁠⁠

Stewart’s ⁠Book⁠⁠⁠

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In Part 1, Erik Ellefsen shared the deeply personal reality of living with long-term illness. In this second part, we turn outward.

What does it actually look like to support someone incrisis? Not in theory - but in real life.

Drawing from his 17-year journey with serious illness, Erik reflects on the people who showed up, the ones who didn’t, and the lessons that have stayed with him over time.

We explore the tension many people feel, wanting to help, but not knowing how.

We talk about the overlooked role of the caregiver, the importance of simple presence, and why small, thoughtful actions often matter more than big gestures.

This conversation also has important implications for leaders, particularly in schools, churches, and communities.

Why are we often unprepared when crisis hits?

What does meaningful leadership look like in those moments

And how can we create environments where people feel seen, supported, and not alone?

There’s no perfect script. But there are better ways to show up and this episode will help you think differently about what that looks like.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

1. What support really looks like in the early stages of crisis and how it changes over time
2. Why people often step back, even when they care deeply
3. The tension between “just tell me what you need” and not having the energy to respond
4. Why caring for the caregiver is often just as important as caring for the person who is unwell
5. How simple presence can matter more than having the right words or answers
6. What leaders in schools, churches, and communities can do to better prepare for crisis
7. How looking outward and serving others can bring life, even in the middle of your own struggle

About our Guest:

Erik Ellefsen is an educator, leadership consultant, and trusted voice in Christian education across the United States

Currently serving as Director of Networks and Improvement at Baylor University

Host of the ⁠Digical Education⁠ podcast

Explore More from Resilient Souls:

Resilient Souls ⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠

Resilient Souls ⁠⁠⁠⁠Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ or search ‘Resilient Souls’ wherever you get your podcasts

Resilient Souls ⁠⁠⁠⁠Blog on Substack⁠⁠ ⁠⁠

Stewart’s ⁠⁠Book⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow Resilient Souls on:

⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram /⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠

Get Involved or Reach Out: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠Join the Community⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Book Stewart to Speak⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Support the Work⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact Us⁠⁠⁠⁠

Need Help?

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This episode is a little different from our usual conversations.

It marks the beginning of a parallel series within the Resilient Souls podcast. In this series, we step back from individual stories to reflect on the shared wisdom that has been emerging through them.

Through the podcast, I’ve had the opportunity to sit with many people who have walked through grief, trauma, illness, loss, and other deeply challenging seasons of life.

Over time, something important became clear.

People were offering honest reflections and practical insights shaped in the middle of their storms. Not neat answers. Not theories. Real wisdom formed through lived experience.

In this short episode, I share the heart behind the new Collective Wisdom series.

This work is about gathering principles from real people who have faced difficult seasons and turning those insights into practical starting points that may help others keep moving forward.

It’s not about scripts or perfect responses.

It’s about learning from one another and finding ways to make the journey you are on just that little bit more manageable.

These reflections have grown from conversations across families, schools, churches, workplaces, and communities. They continue to shape how this series may support people in very real situations.

In this brief episode, you’ll discover

1. What the Collective Wisdom series is and why it has begun
2. How lived experience can become practical guidance for others
3. Why many people feel unprepared when life suddenly becomes difficult
4. How shared insight can help individuals, families, and communities respond with greater understanding
5. Who these resources are designed to support
6. Why this is a series that will continue to grow over time

Explore the Collective Wisdom Series

If this introduction connects with you, you can explore more written reflections and resources through the Resilient Souls Substack

You may also find it helpful to listen to individual podcast conversations where much of this wisdom first emerged.

Visit: resilientsouls.com.au

Or search ‘Resilient Souls’ wherever you listen to podcasts