La Tanyua Thompson, CPC
Certified Professional Life Coach
Grief Coaching Approach
As La Tanyua experienced losses and grew through her own grief, she realized that grieving those losses was an important step in her own life and personal growth. She saw the need for people to have someone come alongside who had been through the same experiences, and dealt with the same issues. And there are some activities, when handled with the proper approach, that can help us regain our sense of purpose and balance, so that we go on to experience all we have before us – instead of being caught up in regret or sorrow. “I want to help people through this process so that their memories are distilled to a celebration of their loved one’s life, and leave them with hope for their own future”.
About Divine Glory
God gives us all wonderful gifts and talents, and sometimes He uses someone special to help us become aware of them. When God gives us such an angel, their love draws forth in us strengths unlike any we have imagined; and, we experience an abundance of creative energy and passion to use our gifts to the Glory of God. From a loving experience such as this, Divine Glory was birthed.
My husband, George, was a wonderful blessing to everyone who knew him. Family-oriented and committed to living a life that glorified God, he always considered his needs and desires secondary to those of family and friends; serving others and growing in his spiritual walk was his primary purpose. To me, he was an exceptional treasure. He believed in me. Loving, supportive, and keenly aware of my strengths and weaknesses, he was always quick to inspire me in areas where he knew I could excel and slow to gently dissuade me when he knew I was merely “having a moment.”
In the summer of 2003, George’s sister passed away. I prepared the obituary and program for the funeral service. He watched me closely as I worked to insure that every word, phrase, photograph was appropriate and conveyed precisely what our family wanted to express. As I chose print, colors, and textures, he commented on my engagement in the process of preparing something so precious as a final tribute. His observation was that I brought a special ability to the creative expression of intertwining love and loss. He suggested that I consider utilizing this talent to support other families in preparing for and coordinating funeral services and memorializing their loved ones. My creation of a service that would provide this assistance for families became our shared vision.
George and I loved each other dearly. Our wedding vows were our most valued treasure, and we honored them all--“In sickness and in health,”… “until death do us part.” And so it was, in 2004, before our vision was realized, my husband lost a battle with cancer. But, while I could no longer look to him for constant encouragement and reassurance, out of the experience of having shared six years with him in such a nurturing marriage and then having lost him, I had developed an inner strength and intimate compassion to assist others in their bereavement. Out of that strength and compassion, my love for my husband and our shared vision, and my commitment to support others during some of the most devastating times we face, Divine Glory was established. Much more than just a business; truly, it is a ministry.
About La Tanyua
The experiences in her young life defined the woman she became. Her mother was the source of her strength. As La Tanyua grew up she was impressed with the dignity and perseverance shown in the life struggles they seemed to take in stride. Their family broke up, and for a time she saw that strength first-hand as her mother raised her children single handedly. La Tanyua remembers her mother sharing with her, and teaching her much wisdom about life and relationships. Her mother later remarried, but when La Tanyua was a Senior in High School, her step father died.
La Tanyua graduated and embarked on life not knowing what the future would hold, but with a mindset tempered as much by her hopes and dreams as by her previous losses. As a young woman, she met and married her husband, George.
As life challenges each of us, she lost her husband to cancer and her sister-in-law within a 14 month period. This was a watershed event for La Tanyua. Losing a loved one is difficult at best, and it was during this time that La Tanyua learned the most about strength. However, she was faced with grief on every side, and needed time to recognize that grieving is a process that all people go through in different ways. She felt she had the ability to reassemble the broken parts of life and go on, but was not sure exactly how to accomplish this daunting task. She learned during this time is that strength is not enough. She had cherished memories, grieving family members, practical needs during the time surrounding the funerals and above all a desire that those relationships be remembered with respect for all involved. This is where the seeds of her business, Divine Glory, were planted.
There were a million details, and only so much time. There was also the need to move past the hurt and pain to an emotional space in her life where she could see beyond the immediate needs, and on to a fulfilling life despite the current grief. This is where La Tanyua found her own empowerment. There were things missing in the service she received when she lost her loved ones. Out of this was born her resolve to make things better for others. She realized that anyone could provide printing services, but not everyone is there for them in a time of need. Some of the services she received were impersonal, such as cookie cutter programs, that were the same for everyone. But, to La Tanyua, even the programs represented more than an ‘order of services’. They represented a life, a unique individual, who should be lovingly remembered.
La Tanyua created programs, obituaries, prayer cards, and designed memory books with the intent that each family should have a personalized choice. La Tanyua also arranges visits in the home where her clients can feel comfortable, and she schedules visits, pick ups and deliveries as the family needs, even to bringing the materials to the funeral homes if desired. La Tanyua has even attended services, and over time, developed supportive relationships with her clients. She has become a member of their community and of their support system.
Going beyond the accepted level of customer service has shown value to her clients that can’t be measured. Now, La Tanyua has added another layer to her services, becoming a certified grief coach. As she experienced her losses and grew through her grief, she realized that grieving those losses was an important step in her own life and Apersonal growth. She saw the need for people to have someone come alongside who has been through the same experiences, and dealt with the same issues. “It’s difficult sometimes,” La Tanyua says, “to tell the difference between a setback in life, and a normal process, like grief.” Everyone goes through the process at a different pace, and all of us at one time or another will experience grief. But there are some activities, when handled with the proper approach, that can help us regain our sense of purpose and balance, so that we go on to experience all we have before us – instead of being caught up in regret or sorrow. “I want to help people through this process so that their memories are distilled to a celebration of their loved one’s life, and leave them with hope for their own future”.