Affiliate Leader Focus: Lynn Hollahan, Co-Director / Caring Listeners, Founding Member, Co-Affiliate Leader of HPH Book CLub
Posted
-
- Jul
- 29
- 2024
by Elizabeth Boisson
Clockwise from left: Devon, the Hollahan family: Kelsey, Lynn, Devon and Jeff, Lynn and Devon, Devon at a University of Arizona football game
My name is Lynn Hollahan. My wonderful husband, Jeff, and I have had the privilege of being married for 42 years. We were blessed with two children, our first born son, Devon, followed by his sister, Kelsey, less than two years later. We were one of those families where everything seemed to be going as planned until 2009…or was this ALWAYS part of the plan?!
We were a traveling, adventurous family, so it didn’t surprise us after Devon graduated from college that he decided not to use that Economics Degree that he just received, but instead moved to Prague to attend the TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) program. We were excited and encouraged him to go. In our minds, he was always meant to be a teacher. Devon completed the program and decided to stay and get a job in Prague. He had met some wonderful friends and seemed to be living his best life.
Neither Jeff nor I panicked the day we received a phone call from one of his new friends who mentioned that he and Devon had gone to Frankfurt to attend a concert and somehow got separated after the concert. His friend had gone back to Prague hoping to find Devon, but it was now the following day and there was no sign of Devon. I will not go into the details of the next four weeks of our lives, but I will say, the ending was not the fairy tale ending we expected.
My life was such a mixture of emotions in the days that followed. I was the sad, grieving mom whose adrenalin kept my body shaking, but there was another side of what was happening that I did not understand. I started receiving signs from Devon right away and this brought an excitement that helped me get up in the morning. Fortunately for us, we were led to Mark and Susie Ireland very quickly and they helped us understand our new life.
The Irelands introduced us to a group of like-minded parents included Elizabeth and Cyril Boisson….who, along with Mark Ireland, founded Helping Parents Heal. We felt so fortunate to have found this amazing group of people so early in our journey. This (then small) group became not only our best friends, but now our forever family.
I love being a part of the Caring Listener Group for HPH. I have met so many lovely parents through this group that Mark Pitstick put together. Because of our shared experiences and our willingness to support each other, we all have the ability to become “Shining Light Parents”. As a group, we are here for anyone who needs a compassionate ear, someone to cry with (or even laugh with), and someone to share the signs you are receiving who understands and can rejoice in your children.
So, back to my original thoughts…..YES, I do believe Devon’s new adventure was always part of our family’s plan and YES, Devon is my greatest teacher!
~Written by Lynn Hollahan, Founding Member of Helping Parents Heal, Co-Director of our Caring Listeners, Co-Affiliate Leader, Helping Parents Heal Book Club
Please learn more about our wonderful Caring Listeners and the interviews that Mark and Lynn conducted with 130 of our Affiliate Leaders & Caring Listeners by clicking here.
- Ann Greaver's Validation with her son Matt through Stacey Lynn Cripps
- Sherry Abdou's Validation from her son Gabriel through Maureen Hancock