My Wynter Season: Seeing God's Faithfulness in the Shadow of Grief

by Jonathan Pitts, Tony Evans (Foreword by)

Overview

Seasons come and go, but Wynter seemed to leave too soon.

When Jonathan Pitts took his wife of 15 years into his arms for their anniversary dance, he had no idea that within a month he would be on a completely different journey, navigating life after Wynter's sudden death at the age of 38.

One moment he was married to a successful author and magazine publisher, and putting the finishing touches on their book about marriage. The next he was a widower and a single father of four grieving daughters. Without warning, the future his family had planned together dissolved, leaving Jonathan trying to answer the question that echoed through his daughters’ hearts and his own: How could a loving God allow this unspeakable loss?

My Wynter Season is Jonathan’s story of losing the most wonderful gift he had ever been given and his journey toward understanding life without her. Yet in the wilderness of his grief, Jonathan found himself surrounded by God’s extravagant love, and came to truly understand Christ’s life-giving promise that death is not the end.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780736981354
Publisher:	Harvest House Publishers
Publication date:	02/09/2021
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	695,885
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 18 Years

About the Author

Jonathan Pitts is an author, speaker, and executive pastor at Church of the City in Franklin, TN. Prior to pastoring, Jonathan was executive director at The Urban Alternative, the national ministry of Dr. Tony Evans in Dallas, Texas. Jonathan lives in Franklin, Tennessee with his four daughters.

Dr. Tony Evans is founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder and president of The Urban Alternative, and author of The Power of God’s Names, Victory in Spiritual Warfare, and many other books. Dr. Evans is the first African American to earn a doctorate of theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, as well as the first African American to author both a study Bible and full Bible commentary. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on more than 2,000 US outlets daily and in more than 130 countries. Learn more at TonyEvans.org.

Table of Contents

Foreword Dr. Tony Evans 9

1 A Mornings Run, 2018 11

2 The Meeting, 2001 17

3 Traveling 23

4 Final Hours 27

5 A Season of Loss 37

6 A Song for My Children 41

7 Surrounded 45

8 Exit Strategy 49

9 The Road Ahead 55

10 Two Brothers 59

11 Friends 65

12 Jehovah Jireh 73

13 The Dance 75

14 God Is That Good 81

15 The Three Hardest Days 85

16 Saying Goodbye and Moving On 89

17 Legacy 95

18 Be Still 105

19 Finishing Well 113

20 The Next Chapter 117

21 Extravagant Love 125

22 A Higher Altitude 129

23 New Home, New Family 133

24 CeCe 139

25 Grieving 143

26 Emotions 149

27 Gratitude 153

28 Uncle Insanity 157

29 Sissy 161

30 She Is Yours 163

31 Learning to Lean 167

32 Home Is Where God Is 169

33 Saying Yes 171

34 Tents 173

35 Wynter's Promise 177

Notes 183

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“As I personally experienced Jonathan deal with the loss of his amazing wife, I remember telling him how much I admired him through that most difficult time in his life. His grief was great, but the grace God gave him through it was evidently greater. Jonathan’s story of real grief provides a palatable blueprint that I know all readers can glean from as they walk through life with loss. I know this personally, as I glean from his strength every day with the grief I am now experiencing.”
—Jonathan Evans, author, speaker, chaplain of the Dallas Cowboys

“Jonathan Pitts’ honest, captivating, and riveting story will move your heart. His resolve and steady faith will be sure to encourage you through whatever ‘Wynter season’ you are facing.”
—Anthony Evans, worship leader, recording artist

“This man and this message will change your life. I’m convinced of this because they’ve both changed mine. Jonathan Pitts built a beautiful life with my cousin and best friend, Wynter, before it was cut short by her sudden death. In these pages, he shares their story with an openness and vulnerability that will not only grip your soul but will guide you as you walk through difficulties of your own. Each page shimmers with the kind of integrity and strength that can only be shaped through brokenness, cleansed by tears, and forged by fire. This is legacy on paper. Read it. And then pass it along to someone else. You’ll be glad you did.”
—Priscilla Shirer, Bible teacher, author

"In My Wynter Season, Jonathan Pitts shares his very personal experience of loving Wynter, learning from Wynter, and living through the most painful and piercing time in his life as a husband wrestling with the loss of his wife. Jonathan shares an honest and detailed account of his life with Wynter and his journey through a winter season without her. His story will rivet you but, more importantly, his revelations will guide you to a place of peace, helping you to see and believe that God can use each season of your life for His glory and your good.”
—Chrystal Evans Hurst, sister-cousin, author, speaker

“Even during the darkest days of grief, Jonathan shares the peace, strength, and hope he and his family have found in the Lord. May the comfort the Lord has brought to him be yours as you are reminded of the faithful, loving God who is there in every aspect of your story.”
—Jeremy & Adrienne Camp, singers, songwriters, worship leaders

“In a story only he could tell, Jonathan Pitts takes us into the depths of a soul walking bravely through trauma with gratitude and glory. This intimate tribute to Wynter is both a call to live fearless and a caution to never assume you know God’s plan. Every day matters, and My Wynter Season is evidence you are never alone when confronted with life’s tragic turns.”
—Gabe and Rebekah Lyons, bestselling authors, founders of Q Ideas

“I read this book through tear-glazed eyes as Jonathan tells his personal story of gain, loss, grief, and hope, and the comfort and peace that Jesus brought in the midst of every season. Praise God for the hope we have in Him. Jonathan encourages us to keep looking toward eternity even in the darkest hours. There is a better home awaiting us in the arms of Jesus! I will never forget Wynter and the legacy she left that Jonathan and their girls are so brilliantly carrying on.”
—Candace Cameron Bure, actress, producer, author

“I met Jonathan at the funeral of his wife and my friend, Wynter. Since that day, I have watched him carry his weight of grief and sorrow with such grace, wisdom, and vulnerability. These words are ones that he has lived and ones that he is offering to us all as a balm to our own grief. Jonathan pushes us all toward Jesus and the hope that only He can provide through these words, and I do not doubt that when I walk through my next season of grief, these words will be a guide for me. You will know more about Wynter as you read this book, but most importantly, you will learn more about Jesus—the one we are all clinging to throughout our lives.”
—Jamie Ivey, podcast host, bestselling author

Editorial Reviews

As I personally experienced Jonathan deal with the loss of his amazing wife, I remember telling him how much I admired him through that most difficult time in his life. His grief was great, but the grace God gave him through it was evidently greater. Jonathan’s story of real grief provides a palatable blueprint that I know all readers can glean from as they walk through life with loss. I know this personally, as I glean from his strength every day with the grief I am now experiencing.”
—Jonathan Evans, author, speaker, chaplain of the Dallas Cowboys

“Jonathan Pitts’ honest, captivating, and riveting story will move your heart. His resolve and steady faith will be sure to encourage you through whatever ‘Wynter season’ you are facing.”
—Anthony Evans, worship leader, recording artist

“This man and this message will change your life. I’m convinced of this because they’ve both changed mine. Jonathan Pitts built a beautiful life with my cousin and best friend, Wynter, before it was cut short by her sudden death. In these pages, he shares their story with an openness and vulnerability that will not only grip your soul but will guide you as you walk through difficulties of your own. Each page shimmers with the kind of integrity and strength that can only be shaped through brokenness, cleansed by tears, and forged by fire. This is legacy on paper. Read it. And then pass it along to someone else. You’ll be glad you did.”
—Priscilla Shirer, Bible teacher, author

"In My Wynter Season, Jonathan Pitts shares his very personal experience of loving Wynter, learning from Wynter, and living through the most painful and piercing time in his life as a husband wrestling with the loss of his wife. Jonathan shares an honest and detailed account of his life with Wynter and his journey through a winter season without her. His story will rivet you but, more importantly, his revelations will guide you to a place of peace, helping you to see and believe that God can use each season of your life for His glory and your good.”
—Chrystal Evans Hurst, sister-cousin, author, speaker

“Even during the darkest days of grief, Jonathan shares the peace, strength, and hope he and his family have found in the Lord. May the comfort the Lord has brought to him be yours as you are reminded of the faithful, loving God who is there in every aspect of your story.”
—Jeremy & Adrienne Camp, singers, songwriters, worship leaders

“In a story only he could tell, Jonathan Pitts takes us into the depths of a soul walking bravely through trauma with gratitude and glory. This intimate tribute to Wynter is both a call to live fearless and a caution to never assume you know God’s plan. Every day matters, and My Wynter Season is evidence you are never alone when confronted with life’s tragic turns.”
—Gabe and Rebekah Lyons, bestselling authors, founders of Q Ideas

“I read this book through tear-glazed eyes as Jonathan tells his personal story of gain, loss, grief, and hope, and the comfort and peace that Jesus brought in the midst of every season. Praise God for the hope we have in Him. Jonathan encourages us to keep looking toward eternity even in the darkest hours. There is a better home awaiting us in the arms of Jesus! I will never forget Wynter and the legacy she left that Jonathan and their girls are so brilliantly carrying on.”
—Candace Cameron Bure, actress, producer, author

“I met Jonathan at the funeral of his wife and my friend, Wynter. Since that day, I have watched him carry his weight of grief and sorrow with such grace, wisdom, and vulnerability. These words are ones that he has lived and ones that he is offering to us all as a balm to our own grief. Jonathan pushes us all toward Jesus and the hope that only He can provide through these words, and I do not doubt that when I walk through my next season of grief, these words will be a guide for me. You will know more about Wynter as you read this book, but most importantly, you will learn more about Jesus—the one we are all clinging to throughout our lives.”
—Jamie Ivey, podcast host, bestselling author

From the Publisher