How can you find laughter and joy when life is so unbearably difficult? Where is joy when pain and suffering seem to be a never ending part of life?

For author and podcaster Molly Stillman, learning to laugh has been balm to her soul in some of her greatest losses. Having lost her mother as a teen, inheriting a sizable inheritance only to lose it shortly after and finding herself in debt and then experiencing pregnancy losses later in life, Molly has walked through too many sorrows to count and yet, she has found a way to laugh through it all. As a trained comedian, Molly has seen the gift of humor when life feels too heavy and has used that gift to bring joy to others in the most difficult moments. Now a homesteader and ministry leader, her life has taken the most unexpected turns and yet she still can find laughter and joy in the midst of it. She writes about her story and life in her new book, If I Don't Laugh, I'll Cry: How Death, Debt, and Comedy Led to a Life of Faith, Farming, and Forgetting What I Came into This Room For.

In this conversation, Aubrey sits down with Molly to discuss what it is like to look a mother at such a crucial time in a young girl's life, how to tell your story in safe spaces, and the ways that shame can keep us from bringing to light the truth of what we've been through.

If you've ever wonder if it's okay to laugh when so much seems to be going wrong, this episode will encourage you that humor is a gift from God and one He often offers us in the moments of our pain to give us a little push forward towards joy and healing.

What does grace have to do with our suffering? How do we experience the fullness of who God is when life is full of pain?

Author and journalist Philip Yancey has long sought out to understood the role grace plays in life and in our hurt. Having walked through a difficult childhood and untangling his understanding of God from church legalism steeped in racism and sin, Philip has offered what he has learned along the way to his readers through his many books, including his latest, Where the Light Fell: A Memoir. Philip is no stranger to the hard questions that can plague a lifelong pursuit of Jesus and his words have been a guide for so many in their own journeys.

In this conversation, Davey and Philip talk about the importance of grace and how it is tested, how those who are most desperate for Jesus find Him, and why pain redeemed can do more than pain removed.

If you've ever struggled to reconcile the God you know through misguided teachings from others with the true nature of God, this episode will help you find your way to the offer of grace that Jesus extends.

Grief can feel crushing. How do we begin to take the steps to move through the pain we encounter? How do we help others who are experiencing loss?

Author Beth Marshall has felt the pangs of loss in her life. In one season, she lost three family members and began to wonder if the feelings she was experiencing were normal. Wondering if she could ever love her life again, Beth began taking some practical steps towards healing. It was through that journey that she began to learn from herself and others what was most helpful when people were walking through grief. It was those lessons that became the message of her latest book, Uncrushed.

In this conversation, Davey sits down with Beth and talks about how we can begin to track God's faithfulness in the moments where He seems absent, how to find the support you need when you are hurting, and practical ways to love those who are walking through loss.

If you are grieving or if you know someone who is, this episode will give you helpful wisdom on how to get through grief and find hope in the midst of it.

Warning: This episode does briefly discuss loss by suicide and may not be suitable for all listeners.

How do we care for a loved one with a disease that steals their memories? How do we tend to ourselves when we are helping aging parents?

For Guideposts Editor-in-Chief Edward Grinnan, these were the very questions he had to answer after his mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Edward had to learn not only how to walk through such a difficult disease, but also how to face the reality that he too might one day suffer from it. Edward went on to chronicle his own journey through his mother's illness in his latest book, A Journey of Faith: A Mother’s Alzheimer’s, A Son’s Love, and His Search for Answers. It was through his journey that he was able to see with clarity God's presence and love.

In this episode, Davey talks with Edward about how telling our stories reveals who we are, the impact Alzheimer's Disease has on families and caregivers, and specific ways that caregivers can care for themselves while tending to their loved one with the disease.

If you are being impacted by Alzheimer's, caring for aging parents or know someone who is, this conversation will encourage you to see how God can show up in the ways we show up for those we love.

According to current statistics, we are facing a crisis when it comes to mental health and our kids. With an increase in suicide rates, depression and anxiety, many kids and teens are facing so much more than they can begin to know how to handle. What can we do as adults to be a safe place for a young person? How can we help a child heal from trauma and crisis?

Kim Tschirret knew from her own personal story as a child with an abusive and alcoholic father that healing was possible through Christ and the help of a seemingly unlikely source: horses. Kim found solace in spending time with a horse as a young girl and knew that others could find healing too by engaging with these magnificent animals. It is what led her to start Hope Reins, a non-profit organization in Raleigh, NC, that "pairs kids in crisis with rescued horses to find hope and healing." What has transpired is a beautiful story of redemption as horses and children, both facing painful emotional wounds, have found healing through the power of their connection with one another. Since its' inception in 2010, Hope Reins has helped over 2,600 kids in crisis at no-cost to the families it serves.

Davey sits down with Kim to talk about how our past pain can lead us into an incredible redemption story for others, what kids need to feel safe, and how any adult can be a trusted source of hope in a hurting child's life.

Resiliency after trauma is possible and Kim's story shows us what a powerful salve love can be for both discarded animals and wounded hearts in the quest for restoration.

If you've ever wondered if God really changes people, this story will convince you. Like Saul to Paul, the Chris Dew of several years ago looks nothing like him today. Chris sits down with Davey to tell his story of how God met a hopeless heroin addict with a speech impediment so severe he could barely talk and turned him into a traveling evangelist who regularly stands on a stage and preaches the gospel to thousands.