Not having any communication with my three sons is very discouraging! Seems like a huge mountain to climb, but I love my sons and I would climb any mountain for them

Hello, I was encouraged to write something to the Community section. I'm new and quite nervous to post things so publicly. We live in a small, rural town where gossip can do wonders (in that people care) as well as damage. I don't ever want to say something that makes it harder for our 3 angry children to heal and be open to talking with us again. I also never spend this kind of money on myself and we aren't rich people. We had 8 children. Our 22 year old died of cancer June 4, 2025, one day after our grandson's first birthday and 2 days before my birthday. Meagan was a uniquely positive person that focused on helping others as a 911 dispatcher and friend to so many. She was huge in our community. But her attitude made it easier to accept how God might be working through even this. One of our adult children got mad at us at the funeral and 2 brothers decided to join her in not speaking to us and assuming the worst about us. How can we know what is the problem or explain our perspectives if we can't talk? There is one child in the home and the other 3 adult children all have come to talk with us and understand things, but our angry daughter's home is where "whatever" can happen, so they go there instead of to us. The oldest prefers to stay out of all of it. Our family is so fractured right now, but honestly, we were starting to have some communication issues as they graduated every 2 years (I've been hard of hearing but now have cochlear implants so now can use the phone but struggle to know what to say if I call). I have struggled to accept their choices (living together, drinking, etc), and make small talk and I think that's something I have to work on from MY perspective, not to fix them. Our church, which we've been so committed to for so many years became horrendous when a new pastor determined to clean up membership roles just as our adult children were dealing with their sister dying. My husband as an elder fought against removing the 3 (now mad) children from the roles since they weren't attending there anymore, but IDK if they know that. We told the one who had a child, but the other 2 won't even talk.

My daughter is an attorney so argues for a living. :) I shared this with my daughter when I felt she was “case building” with me … aka “attacking” … It’s a post I saw that deeply resonated with me … "What My Silence Really Means" When I go quiet, it’s not because I’m fine. And it’s not because I’ve stopped caring either. It usually means I’ve reached a point where there’s nothing left to say that hasn’t already been said. I’ve tried talking. I’ve tried explaining. But when words don’t lead anywhere, silence feels easier. It’s not about giving up, it’s about realizing you can’t make someone understand what they don’t want to. My silence means I’m tired. Not the kind of tired that sleep fixes, the kind that comes from always defending myself or trying to be heard. After a while, you just stop trying. It also means I’m accepting things for what they are. Some people won’t change. Some situations won’t get better. And some endings are just meant to happen, even if you weren’t ready for them. These days, I don’t want to explain myself over and over. I don’t want to argue about things that should be simple. I just want peace, even if it means being misunderstood. So if you notice I’ve gone quiet, don’t take it as coldness. It’s not anger. It’s not attitude. It’s just me trying to protect my peace, to stop fighting things that only drain me. My silence doesn’t mean I’ve stopped feeling, it means I’m finally letting go of what hurts.

I was unaware that this call started 1/2 hour earlier so I missed half of it. I would like to attend on time. Do I recheck each time on the calendar to avoid this ?

Good evening everyone! I wanted to let the community know that tomorrow morning's class will be meeting 30 minutes earlier than usual. Please be ready for class at 11:00 AM ET (10:00 AM CT, and 8:00 AM PT). Please let me know if you all have any questions or concerns. As always, the classes will be recorded and you can find them in the Classroom section under Class Recordings! So sorry for the late notice!