Unexpected Widow: Life After Loss

Kim Figer’s husband Jon Jon died suddenly and unexpectedly, making Kim a widow at 32

Hours after her husband’s death, Kim went live on Instagram to tell the world. For years, people wondered how. How do you navigate devastation and go to work the next day?

Kim takes us through what life looked like after sudden loss — the low moments that brought her to her knees, and the unexpected miracles she saw in her life and her son’s when she finally let go. Kim’s story is a masterclass in what it means to surrender completely and see God’s guidance even in the wreckage.

Episode Timestamps

00:00               Cold Open: “Why Does It Feel Like It’s Almost Perfect?”
02:28               How Have the Last Few Years Been? “Miracles”
03:09               The Post Six Days Before: “I’m Not Going to Be a Widow Early”
04:26               September 28th: The Two Weeks Prior Felt Almost Perfect
06:18               “I’m Feeling Dizzy.” Then He Lost Consciousness
08:05               Turning Trauma Into Prayer
11:26               Why She Went Live on Instagram Hours After His Death
13:37               Her First Prayer: “I Prayed for My Son”
15:16               Going Back to Work the Next Day
17:14               Why She Responded to Every Single Message for Four Days
20:04               The Prayer for a Child That Looks Like Her Husband
26:07               Why She Never Stopped Performing Her Church Duties
30:09               What Peace Feels Like: “I’m Able to Breathe”
32:39               The Closet Prayer: When She Didn’t Know the Right Words
34:16                “Thank You God for Giving Me That Time”
36:14               Why Sudden Loss Was Actually a Gift
41:16               Grandma the Deaconess: Anointing Oil for Five Months
44:51               “You Have Nothing to Lose When You Put Everything in God’s Hands”
51:52               “I Walk Hand in Hand with God”
55:30               “Grief Is Love with Nowhere to Go”
59:15               Her Prayer for Troy: “Give Him the Ability to Truly Know You”
1:07:42           Spiritual Muscles vs. Physical Muscles
1:10:18           Reading Her Birthday Post: “I Can Finally Breathe”
1:12:19           Hope for the Hopeless: “Don’t Give Up”
1:13:46           Change Is an Opportunity to Seek God
1:16:41           Rapid Fire
1:19:07           Final Word: “Change Is Opportunity”

Hours after jonjon died, Kim went live on Instagram. And for years, I wondered why.

Now I know.

It wasn’t just about her grief. It was about everyone else who lost someone that day. A son who lost his father. A mother who lost her son. Friends who lost their friend.

Even in that moment, Kim was already surrendering.

Kim didn’t choose this change. But she chose how to respond. It wasn’t ever easy… some days she struggled, some days she found herself on her knees — but she kept responding.

Surrender over control. Prayer over panic. Gratitude over bitterness.

And in that surrender… that’s where she kept seeing the miracles.

Like Kim says, Change is an opportunity. Opportunity to seek God in every moment of your life… even the ones that break your heart.

If Kim’s story moved you, share it with someone who needs to hear that surrender isn’t giving up… it’s finally letting go and leaning on God to guide you where you need to go.

For more Making Changes, visit incmedia.org or find us anywhere you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening. And may your change uplift you.

Watch: How Do Christians Respond to Suffering – https://incmedia.org/how-do-christians-respond-to-suffering/

Losing a loved one suddenly? Watch Part 4 of the CODA series, “The Year of Change” – https://incmedia.org/growing-up-coda-a-year-of-change/

Connect with Aliw Garcia Pablo, the Making Changes Host: http://instagram.com/aliwgarciapablo

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