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What do you do when the bottom drops out and life breaks in ways you never imagined? Charlie and Jill LeBlanc have walked that road, and through their personal story of loss, they’ve discovered the sustaining power of God's presence. In this podcast, they offer heartfelt conversations, Scripture-based encouragement, and the kind of hope that only comes from experience. Whether you're grieving, struggling, or searching for peace in the middle of chaos, this space is for you.
Hi, and welcome back to the Finding Hope podcast, getting through what you never asked for. We're so glad that you joined us today. We have some really great things to talk about.
Charlie LeBlanc:Yes. We always enjoy coming to you and sharing our hearts and sharing what God has done in our lives, but more importantly, just to encourage you and love on you and realize that we understand what many of you are going through, at least to a degree, we understand. And you know there's a scripture interestingly that I read across this morning when I was studying Philippians, and it said this, Paul was talking to them and he said, we're in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past and you know that I am still in the midst of it. Of course, Paul is talking from being in prison and struggling with all that persecution he was dealing with.
Charlie LeBlanc:But that really jumped out at me in regard to you guys and this podcast. I thought, you know, we're in this struggle together. People don't understand the struggle that those of us who have had losses go through. They think, well, okay, get over it and move on. It's it's it's all done. That's part of your life. We'll now now move on. Like, as if you lost a job and you get a new one. Or as if your car had a crash and then the insurance settles it and then you get a new car.
Charlie LeBlanc:So that's what people think sometimes about loss unless they've experienced it themselves. And, but, you know, it just doesn't go away like that. You always remember your loved one and you're supposed to. And that's the beauty of it. You're always supposed to remember your loved ones and it's not always gonna be horribly sad to remember them, but at first it is. It's very, very, very difficult.
Jill LeBlanc:It's hard.
Charlie LeBlanc:And, and we've all experienced that.
Jill LeBlanc:It's true. And I was thinking today of a friend that we lost about three months ago. And was really I mean, it was hard then, but we don't we don't live together day to day. You know, we would she and I would text maybe once a week or, you know, talk every couple weeks or so.
Charlie LeBlanc:Mhmm.
Jill LeBlanc:See them at, you know, once or twice a month.
Charlie LeBlanc:Yeah.
Jill LeBlanc:And so the the the gravity of the loss for us has been really hard, but for their family is you know, they've gotta live with it every single day.
Charlie LeBlanc:Devastating.
Jill LeBlanc:Yeah. But just I was writing something this morning, and she just popped into my mind. I thought, I I wanna text Yvonne and tell her dot dot dot. You know? And I thought I can't believe she's gone.
Charlie LeBlanc:Wow.
Jill LeBlanc:And and it's just that way when someone you lose someone you love so much.
Charlie LeBlanc:Yeah.
Jill LeBlanc:And and it's just part of it
Charlie LeBlanc:Yeah. Sadly. It's very hard. I I I mean, I know how close you were to Yvonne. And like she said, they text a lot, they shared recipes all the time.
Jill LeBlanc:Talked about health things all the time.
Charlie LeBlanc:Yeah, health things and decorating and so forth. In fact, she helped us come up with the cover on our book.
Jill LeBlanc:Yeah, was kind of the art direction.
Charlie LeBlanc:Yeah, and we have her in there. A thank you to Yvonne O'Brien for that. And so she's a dear friend and we miss her. And it is interesting how just waves of grief can come in just out of nowhere.
Jill LeBlanc:Right.
Charlie LeBlanc:You know, like you don't expect it.
Jill LeBlanc:Right.
Charlie LeBlanc:And I could just you just started thinking about her this morning. That's very hard and very interesting. People don't understand how how we, you and us, not just Jill and I, but all of you, the listeners, that, you know, how these things come in waves and they come unexpectedly so often.
Charlie LeBlanc:I know there are a lot of triggers that can trigger our memories of our loved one. I wrote this down yesterday, I said it comes when you least expect it, like a song, a picture, some say perfume. You know, like I know one of our friends gave his wife a brand new bottle of perfume on a trip and she passed. And then he said whenever he goes into his bedroom at night to go to bed, smells that perfume in the room because they still have the bottle of it I guess. And anyway, you never know what's going to trigger.
Charlie LeBlanc:And sometimes when that does trigger, it can mean crying, it can mean just sadness for a moment. You know, like for me now after seventeen years, sometimes I just kind of, I go doggone it, you know. I think about him and I think about Beau and I just think about how much I miss him and I think about what could have been and what, you know, so forth. Especially when I hear his music, I think that's the thing, that's the part that gets me the most. And when I see young men in the music industry, Christians or not, and just seeing what they're doing with their music, it it really triggers me.
Charlie LeBlanc:And a a wave of grief can come over me in that moment. And, you know, I'll just have to get through it.
Jill LeBlanc:Yeah.
Charlie LeBlanc:Yeah. And so, know I've made some notes here just the bottom line is it'll come when we least expect it and when we're unprepared for it.
Charlie LeBlanc:You know I know that especially in the first year I would just be walking through a grocery store and I'd see a young man and it would just boom. Sometimes they even looked a little bit like both from behind, from the back of their head. And so, can be unexpected and most of the time we're unprepared for it. But that's just the way it is. And it's not evil, that's not wrong.
Charlie LeBlanc:Grief and having these moments is not something to rebuke or bind or command the devil to get behind you or anything like that. It's just part of the process, and the Lord knows that. He understands our grief. And it's just something that we are to embrace. And I was thinking about the wave factor, some ways when you go to the ocean are so strong they knock you down.
Jill LeBlanc:Especially if you're not expecting them, you get hit from behind.
Charlie LeBlanc:Exactly. I mean, many times have we been out there with our grandkids or whatever, and we've got our eye on them and we're making sure they're okay. And then all of sudden, bam, we get hit and I've been hit and knocked underneath and just like, oh my goodness. And you know, almost eat the sand or whatever. But yeah, so waves of grief come like that as well. And where you're just totally unexpected and it can knock you down. But, you know...
Jill LeBlanc:But then there's those waves that are just, they continue to come, but they're not so hard that it knocks you off your feet or even makes you lose your balance, but that it still comes and you feel the pressure.
Charlie LeBlanc:That's right.
Jill LeBlanc:That's also, like, you know, the thoughts, the memories will come.
Charlie LeBlanc:Yes.
Jill LeBlanc:And they're not always so hard, but they're still there. And you have to endure.
Charlie LeBlanc:Yeah. It's so true. So, you know, and it's good to know and remember that Jesus understands. I said that a few minutes ago. But I was reminded recently, just this week actually, in Isaiah where it says, Isaiah 53, where it says, He was a man of sorrows acquainted with deepest grief.
Charlie LeBlanc:And the other translation says, TPT says, a man of deep sorrows who was no stranger to suffering and grief. And so, that's our Lord, that's our God, that's our comforter, that's Jesus. You know, he was acquainted with grief and he understands what we go through. Thank God he does. Thank God, you know, not only do we understand or maybe you have a dear friend that understands what you're going through.
Charlie LeBlanc:Thank God to find a safe friend that can understand, what you're going through. We have so many now friends who have lost loved ones and, in fact, have one one, dear friend of yours that's in town right now that, visiting. And, her husband passed away, what about-
Jill LeBlanc:Almost eight years ago.
Charlie LeBlanc:Almost eight years ago. Yeah. Awful. Awful. Just had a heart attack right in their in their bathroom. And he was a very strong man, six pack, know, worked out every morning, just the epitome of health, what he looked like, but he had some sort of a terrible widow maker or whatever it is, they didn't do an autopsy, they didn't want to. But she's with us and we were just talking the other day and she's sweet, she's moved on, she's got a good business. I say move on. She moved forward. Didn't move on. She's surviving and doing well.
Jill LeBlanc:She struggles with it every day.
Charlie LeBlanc:Yeah. Well, that was my point was that, but she opened up to us about how hard it still is and how much she misses him so dearly. And I know and their son as well, they're all making the most they can of their life and we all have to figure out how to move forward in life and move forward without our loved one. That's just part of the journey. But it doesn't mean it's easy. And it doesn't mean it will ever be easy, although we've mentioned on our podcast that after seventeen years, by the grace of God, it is easier on a daily basis, yes.
Jill LeBlanc:Most times.
Charlie LeBlanc:But you know, like I look over here, as I said before, even as we're doing our podcast, have a picture of Beau here, we have a picture of Beau here, I've got pictures of Beau in my room, someone would say, Get rid of those pictures because they're just gonna make you sad. No, I want to get rid of them. Know, they're my boy. And I'm gonna cherish those pictures and cherish him till the day I die until I get to see him and wrap my arms around him. But, you know what? It's okay to be sad. It's not it's not the end of the world to be sad. You know, the scripture says weep for those who weep, and and, it doesn't say to rebuke those who weep. You know?
Jill LeBlanc:Right.
Charlie LeBlanc:It doesn't say to rebuke those who are sorrowful, you know? And it it's it's a matter of what you're sorry about. And and, you know, when you're sorrow Paul said, I would have sorrow upon sorrow if Epaphroditus would have died. And so, you know, it's okay to have godly sorrow when you're sorrowing over the right things. You don't want it to overtake you, you don't want it to consume your life and destroy your own personal life and future and destroy your family.
Charlie LeBlanc:And, you know, we have a lot of people that we're ministering to that they have had situations like that, where their lives are being destroyed and the enemy is trying to destroy them. We recently put out an email and what do we call it? Don't remember exactly, but we had something about when trouble comes to your marriage, I think it's called.
Jill LeBlanc:Something like that, yeah.
Charlie LeBlanc:Yeah, if you're not on our email list, join it because we put out lots of helpful emails about getting through tough times and getting through difficulties. But we had this one about marriage because Andrew Wommack asked us on the podcast we did earlier in our interview with him at the beginning of the year. He asked us, if you remember, if you saw it, he said, How did it affect your marriage? And so we did a whole email on that because yes, it affected it. And we had many opportunities to really get upset with each other and to be, I don't know.
Charlie LeBlanc:It was tough.
Jill LeBlanc:Well, you know how you lash out at people that you're closest with.
Charlie LeBlanc:Mhmm.
Jill LeBlanc:Which is such an oxymoron, really.
Charlie LeBlanc:Right.
Jill LeBlanc:The ones you love the most, you you you you're secure in their love, and so you'll go ahead and just let it rip on an argument or whatever. Whereas someone else you don't know so well, you're not as close to,
Charlie LeBlanc:Right.
Jill LeBlanc:You're a little more-
Charlie LeBlanc:On your best behavior.
Jill LeBlanc:Yes. All that.
Charlie LeBlanc:Right.
Jill LeBlanc:But it just, you know, when something that traumatic happens to you, you're looking for someone to blame.
Charlie LeBlanc:Yep.
Jill LeBlanc:And you're just looking for a reason for all of this mess that just took place in your life. And, you know, so and then the enemy comes in to steal, kill, and destroy along with it.
Charlie LeBlanc:And he does.
Jill LeBlanc:And so yeah. Just...
Charlie LeBlanc:He does. It is a spiritual warfare. Always have to keep that in mind and we point that out in this email because you have to be aware, like you said, Jill, that he comes to steal, kill and to destroy us. The scripture's very clear in Ephesians. I was reading that actually this morning too.
Charlie LeBlanc:That it said, we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, wickedness in high places. And so it says put on the whole armor of God. It says don't be ignorant of his devices. And we have to realize that there's a whole lot more going on in our lives than just a natural, the natural life. That there are spirits that are against us.
Charlie LeBlanc:And I'm not trying to get spooky weird that there's a demon in every corner. But, if we could peek into the atmosphere right now, you know, which the Gospels give us little peaks into it, Revelations gives us little peaks into it, different scriptures in the Old Testament give us peaks into the heavenly realms. But I am no scholar about it at all. But it's very clear that there is a spiritual darkness arrayed against us, trying to blind our eyes to truth, even unbelievers, the scripture says. The spiritual darkness is trying to keep them blinded.
Charlie LeBlanc:And so, you know, even your loved ones that don't know Jesus, the enemy is trying to keep them blinded. And you can pray against that. You can command the blinders to get off their eyes. You can pray that they would open up and their eyes would be enlightened as Paul prayed for us, our hearts would be enlightened to see the beauty of Jesus. And those are the kind of prayers we really need to continue to pray around our loved ones.
Charlie LeBlanc:And, you know, speaking of our loved ones, you know, when tragedy hits like this, it hits in so many places. We recently we were gonna be at a funeral, but we weren't able to be there because of the ice and snow that hit the whole nation. But we weren't able to be there, we were able to watch it online. Thankfully, they had it live streamed. But just to see our dearest friend, who lost her husband, who was a dear friend of ours as well, and just to see this whole situation, see the whole memorial service, celebration of life, funeral, whatever you choose to call it.
Charlie LeBlanc:But it was pretty impressive to see all the different family members there and to see the church filled with people. And that just shows not only the impact that that person had on so many people that passed but also it shows you know, the grief that is not just on our dear friend's spouse, but also on their kids that came up and shared, their grandkids that came up and sang a song altogether. That's just close family members. But it goes on and on. You know for me, I have had several moments of grief over the loss of my buddy.
Charlie LeBlanc:I was telling Jill earlier this week that I went to a concert in in Denver about ten years ago or so, and, and it was a a blues rock guitar player that I really like. And Jill doesn't like him, so I wasn't gonna torture her. But I said, I'd like to go. She said, you should go. I said, well, thank you. I think I will. We had we had a day off. We were down in Colorado to minister at Andrew Wommack's conferences and had a lot of ministry going on. But I had that night free and I was like, oh my gosh, he's gonna be right here at Red Rocks in Denver. And so, I remember, Okay, well then who could go with me?
Charlie LeBlanc:I mean, I could go alone, but I don't like going alone. So, I called two friends and both of them were able to come and we met there and we had a beautiful-
Jill LeBlanc:Yeah, they're both musician friends.
Charlie LeBlanc:Yeah, exactly. Both were guitar players. And so, they all loved it, we loved it, we had a great evening. I was telling you the other day, both of them have passed. There I was with both of these guys having a great time, and both of them died early in their seventies.
Jill LeBlanc:Early seventies.
Charlie LeBlanc:Yeah. Early seventies. And and it's just it's just awful. Awful. And, my heart has grieved over and over again for both of these friends of mine.
Charlie LeBlanc:And then, of course, my friend in Saint Louis. You know, it just goes it it goes on and on. And I'm sure that you as listeners, you can also, think about so many that have passed since you lost your loved one. But it doesn't I don't know. It's just interesting how hard it is to go through some of these losses.
Charlie LeBlanc:And, you know, everybody's built a little differently and they process things differently. And some will just say, well, praise the Lord. He was a good man and I love him, I miss him, but he's with Jesus and that's where we're all gonna be. So, it's alright. Praise the Lord.
Jill LeBlanc:He's healed and he's
Charlie LeBlanc:Yeah.
Jill LeBlanc:You know, we should be happy because he's healed. You know, and he's whole now and he's better. Well...
Charlie LeBlanc:And we are.
Jill LeBlanc:Yes. We're happy that they are healed and whole. We're happy that both healed and whole because he suffered for nine months. But we miss him.
Charlie LeBlanc:Yeah. It's hard. And so if we didn't have to live this earth, then we could just say, okay, move on, you know?
Jill LeBlanc:Yeah.
Charlie LeBlanc:But, but we do have to live here on earth. And God never intended, death.
Jill LeBlanc:Right.
Charlie LeBlanc:The scripture says death is the final enemy.
Jill LeBlanc:Yeah.
Charlie LeBlanc:It's it's not like... it is an enemy.
Jill LeBlanc:It is an enemy.
Charlie LeBlanc:Yeah.
Jill LeBlanc:Yep. You know that scripture that says that death is swallowed up in victory. You know, we've discussed this before. I mean, you and I have discussed this a lot between and it's it's it's great for the person that dies. Right. Because all of a sudden, they are in the presence of Jesus.
Charlie LeBlanc:Right.
Jill LeBlanc:Their suffering is over.
Charlie LeBlanc:Right.
Jill LeBlanc:But that's not referring to those of us that are left behind.
Charlie LeBlanc:Right. Exactly.
Jill LeBlanc:That is for those who have died, who have left this life. Death is swallowed up in victory for them.
Charlie LeBlanc:Right. Exactly.
Jill LeBlanc:But that's not talking about us.
Charlie LeBlanc:Exactly. Exactly. I know. We just need to realize that it's tough and it can be tough for a lot of people. And it's okay that you're going through this stuff. I mean, it's not okay. We're sorry. We're praying for you. But we do understand that it's very common.
Charlie LeBlanc:It's common to man. It's common to all of us to go through all of this difficulty. But I do wanna point out one more time the love of God, the compassion of God, the comfort of the Holy Spirit. And, that's the beauty of all this, that he does comfort us. He comforts those who mourn. And that's the thing. I mean, Jesus knew that we would be mourning.
Jill LeBlanc:Yeah.
Charlie LeBlanc:He knew that there would be grief, that there would be sorrow. And so that's why he said, I will comfort those who mourn.
Jill LeBlanc:Yeah. Thank, God.
Charlie LeBlanc:Yeah.
Jill LeBlanc:And, you know, it changes you when you go through that. When you you know, it's like what we were saying before. It's not like, you know, you're gonna car crash, you get a new car. You have to live with it the rest of your life. And it changes over time, like we were saying. It's not like we don't hurt as much as we used to. But I remember the first Thanksgiving after our son passed away.
Jill LeBlanc:So he passed away in January. And so then ten months later, it's Thanksgiving. And and so all these family members that live out of town well, some some were some came from out of state, but those that live in town in, you know, not too far away, they all several came for Thanksgiving that year.
Charlie LeBlanc:Yeah.
Jill LeBlanc:The first Thanksgiving. And it didn't really dawn on me until later that the reason why they came is just to help us get through that first major family holiday.
Charlie LeBlanc:Yeah. That was precious.
Jill LeBlanc:Yeah. It was. And it but it didn't hit me until later that that's why they came. But I'll say this, that I used to I feel like I used to be really good at managing a big family holiday with all the food prep and everything.
Charlie LeBlanc:Yeah.
Jill LeBlanc:I'm not the same person that I used to be in that regard. I mean, even now, seventeen years later, my ability to manage those kinds of situations, fixing big family meals, Yeah. I don't have the same the same edge that I used to have.
Charlie LeBlanc:Right.
Jill LeBlanc:And I know I'm a little older now, but it's that's not what it is. It's just my the the trauma that we walked through after losing him changed me. And, you know, praise the Lord, I'm so much better than I used to be, but still there are some things that are just not like what they used to be.
Charlie LeBlanc:That's very true. There's no question about it. And I was reading about this recently, I don't remember details now, but about how trauma and loss affects you physically, as well. We've as talked a little bit about this on one of the podcasts I know. But it definitely affects you physically and emotionally, but your body can break down if you don't get healthy. Well, we talked about that a couple of weeks ago, that one person died of a broken heart.
Jill LeBlanc:Broken heart syndrome.
Charlie LeBlanc:Yeah, we talked about that. And, but yeah, just it, I know for me the stress level, I know that there were things, anger actually built up on the inside of me. We don't have time to get into all the details of that, but there were things that I was never an angry person. It was, I was ease, I would, things would just
Jill LeBlanc:Right.
Charlie LeBlanc:What do you say? Jump off your shoulder or whatever?
Jill LeBlanc:Roll off.
Charlie LeBlanc:Roll off your shoulder. So, yeah. So, I never had issues like that. But boy, after I lost Beau, I don't know, something just inside of me and I had to really deal with that. But God really helped me.
Charlie LeBlanc:It took many years. But I got to keep a check on it even to this day.
Jill LeBlanc:You did.
Charlie LeBlanc:You know, because
Jill LeBlanc:Yes, he does.
Charlie LeBlanc:I won't go into this one, but we're dog sitting right now. And so we have these two dogs, my daughter's dogs and two big, big dogs.
Charlie LeBlanc:And anyway, one of them is just a sweet and gentle and just an easy keeper. The other one is like in your face constantly. I mean, just I want attention all the time, wanting your food off your plate, wanting to be in the kitchen, wanting anytime he hears like anything of a tinkle of a dish, he jumps up and wants to get in your face. And, you know, most of the time I just kind of go, yeah, Zeus, go sit down, go sit down. You know, that kind of thing.
Charlie LeBlanc:But sometimes, I mean, I'm just over it and I just get really upset with him and I lose it. And so, but now we had a dog before and I never lost it with that dog, I don't think.
Jill LeBlanc:Yeah, but he wasn't this one.
Charlie LeBlanc:He wasn't this dog.
Jill LeBlanc:Oh my gosh.
Charlie LeBlanc:Yeah, but anyway, the effects of loss, I'm different. And I know that. I just, I thank God that he helps us even though we've been through a lot of pain, a lot of loss, even though we change, He still continues to help us.
Charlie LeBlanc:He's still the comforter, He's still the helper, the Holy Spirit, and He continues to just be there for us and help us through these tough times. Yes, we're changed. Yes, we're different. Yes, I've said this before when I've ministered. I've said a part of me died when my son died. And it's really true because so much a part he is a part of us. He came from us and he is a part of us. And so a part of us died when he died. But nonetheless, God's grace, God's help when we're weak, then we are strong. In our weakness, he's there for us.
Charlie LeBlanc:And so we have to keep the word of God in us, we have to keep the positive light of the word. I was reading in Philippians this morning again about think on these things. Finally my brothers, think on these things. And he went off, boom, boom, boom, boom. What's good, what's right. So, we do have to keep our minds stayed on him and keep our hearts strong, but it doesn't mean it's not a battle.
Jill LeBlanc:Right.
Charlie LeBlanc:There will be a battle.
Jill LeBlanc:It is a battle.
Charlie LeBlanc:Yeah.
Jill LeBlanc:And thank God he's there to help us get through these battles.
Charlie LeBlanc:Yes he is.
Jill LeBlanc:Thank God. I just wanna close, today with a scripture that, I had forgotten about. And I was on a walk the other day, and and I the Lord brought it back to my mind. And I wanted to share it with you because it it's so beautiful. It's in 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17, and this is the Passion Translation, which I just love.
Jill LeBlanc:It just makes scriptures that I've read so many times just come alive again to me. And I think I think it will bless you too. It says, now may the Lord Jesus Christ, sorry. Now, may the lord Jesus Christ and our Father God who loved us and in his wonderful grace gave us eternal comfort. And a beautiful hope.
Charlie LeBlanc:Mhmm.
Jill LeBlanc:That cannot fail.
Charlie LeBlanc:Yes.
Jill LeBlanc:May he encourage your hearts and inspire you with strength to always do and speak what is good and beautiful in his eyes. And he will help us do those things if we continue to seek the Lord and keep him first in our lives and let him continue to help us. We will we will have that beautiful hope. We will have that eternal comfort.
Charlie LeBlanc:Amen.
Jill LeBlanc:So, we just pray for you that you can, come into closer relationship with the Lord every single day.
Charlie LeBlanc:Yes.
Jill LeBlanc:And, thanks for being with us today.
Charlie LeBlanc:Yes. We sure do appreciate you. God bless you. We do send our love. Amen.