Dear Healing Heart,
This space has been on my heart for a long time, but like many of you on your journey, I’ve not known where to start. How do I begin? What should be the first post? If you’re anything like me, you might prefer to have a step-by-step guide to take out the guess work and help you navigate wherever you’re going and whatever you’re doing without the stress of having to figure it all out.
But if we always received a freshly printed copy of that guide, we’d all arrive at our destinations as wildly underdeveloped people. Our sense of direction is built when we have the courage to take the first step in the general direction of where we know we need to go.
So two years later, here we are, and it’s high time I simply start. How can something take shape if there’s nothing there to sculpt?
With that, I’d like to re-introduce this space to you: Welcome to “Hope for Your Heart” with yours truly, Alexandra Hope Craig.
In this first post, I want to set the tone for what you’ll find here:
Hope for the hurting: Whether you’re grieving, struggling, or simply searching for something more, I want this to be a safe space where you feel seen and supported.
Faith to strengthen your heart: Each post will point back to the unchanging promises of God’s Word and the hope we have in Jesus.
Tools to love forward: Together, we’ll explore ways to move through heartbreak and rebuild a meaningful life filled with purpose and joy.
Excerpts from my life: Things that have brought me joy to various degrees. Recipes I’ve tried & loved. Product recommendations for things I personally use, enjoy, and have a made my life better. Every person on a healing journey through grief & loss or otherwise is a multifaceted human being. Their life is made of multiple interests, hobbies, talents, & skills. This category encompasses all of that.
But most of all… as I’ve journeyed through grief, loss, and healing, one truth has emerged again and again: hope isn’t just something we feel; it’s something we live.
To “love forward” is to make the intentional choice to keep walking, even when the road ahead looks unfamiliar. It’s about honoring where we’ve been, holding space for the pain, and trusting that there is a purpose for the journey—even the hardest parts. It’s about opening our hearts to love those in our lives better than we could before. It’s about choosing a tenderness of heart over hardness & bitterness.
Over the years, I’ve heard countless stories from people who feel stuck, lost, or broken. If that’s you, please know you’re not alone. You’re not defined by what’s happened to you or by the pieces that feel too shattered to pick up. You are loved by a God who makes beauty out of brokenness. He cradles those pieces of your shattered heart closely to His chest, breathing His life into yours.
So, here’s my promise to you: this blog will be a place to rest your weary heart, to feel encouraged, to find tools for healing, to find things that might help you experience enjoyment & fulfillment in life again, and to become empowered to Love Forward. My hope is that as you read, you’ll discover the strength to take one more step forward—and then another, and another.
I’ll leave you with this reminder: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit”(Psalm 34:18).
Here’s to loving forward, one step at a time.
With love and hope,
Alexandra
P.S.
If you are struggling in your journey and would like extra support, I invite you to indicate below if you would like to join a free Hope through the Holidays support series.
Navigating grief during the holidays (and in the weeks of winter that follow) can be one of the toughest challenges. This free, faith-based support group is designed to help you find peace, hope, and healing in a safe and supportive community of other people who “get it”.
Over six weeks, we’ll explore unique grief styles, share practical coping strategies, and lean on God’s promises for comfort and strength to help you Love Forward.
Each weekly session will include guided discussion, reflection, and prayer, with extra activities to help you process your grief in a meaningful way throughout the week.
If you are interested in joining, please subscribe to this blog, comment “Hope through the holidays” on this post, and please complete the short poll below.
