“I don’t want a future, Lord. I want my past. But ahead lie Your plans. Ahead lies life.”

Life after a husband’s death is full of grief, uncertainty, and loneliness. Who can possibly understand the heavy ache of this new life that must be lived alone? Only someone who has lived this experience too.

In Prayers for a Widow’s Journey, a collection of more than 100 reflective prayers, author Gayle Roper talks to the Lord about what it feels like to be caught in the unsought solitude of widowhood. Each prayer is accompanied by a verse from Scripture that grounds the prayer not in self-pity, but in an awareness of the boundless care of the God of all comfort. Rather than explaining grief away, Gayle acknowledges the pain and invites you to trust God even in these darkest of days.