Everyone seems to know someone who has died these days.

And for the Christian woman left behind; the widow, the daughter, the sister, the grieving friend, there comes a moment when the fog begins to lift and questions rise up inside her:

What am I supposed to do now? I feel like I don’t know who I am anymore. What is God calling me to do?

So many women feel a stirring, a sense that it is time to move forward. But the world encourages them to stay in grief rather than living with hope and following where God is leading them next.

Dear Sisters and Friends in Christ,

I know that moment. I have lived it more than once.

I lost my sister when she was only 15 years old. I lost my father. My mother. My husband. And I held my lifeless baby girl, stillborn at 8.5 months, and never got to bring her home.

I am a senior woman living on Social Security, and I recently lost my job that gave me extra income as a vacation rental manager when the property sold. By the world’s standards, I have very little right now.

But I have something the world cannot give and cannot take away.

Through every single one of those losses, God met me. He gave me experiences - spiritual, personal, and undeniable - that removed all doubt about what waits on the other side. I don’t just believe Heaven is real. I know it is. I don’t just hope our loved ones are okay. I know they are. And I know there is a grand arrival celebration waiting for every one of them on the other side of that veil.

God has made it unmistakably clear - what He gave me through those experiences was never meant for me alone. It was meant to be shared.

There is a saying: the healer suffers first, then returns with the medicine.

Here is what I know to be true:

God does not call us to dwell in grief. He does not call us to stay in the valley forever. The separation we feel from our loved ones is real, but in the grand and eternal scheme of things, it is momentary. Not forever.

One of the greatest truths God has shown me is this: there is power in our perspective.

When we see life through the lens of eternity, everything begins to change. We don’t stop missing the people we love. We remember them with gratitude, honor the impression they left on our lives, and honor God by embracing the next chapter He has prepared for us.

And God, the same God who met me in my darkest moments, is not done with the women still standing on this side of eternity. In fact, I have found that for many women, their greatest calling comes after their greatest loss.

That conviction is exactly why God placed The Turning Point Retreat on my heart.

There are grief retreats out there. But there are no Christian grief retreats quite like this; ones that will strengthen a woman’s faith through empowering, real-life stories that will forever change her perspective of what actually happened to her loved one and invite her to step boldly into the purposeful life God still has waiting for her.

That is exactly what The Turning Point does and why I know beyond any doubt that God called me to create it.

It will be an intimate, healing experience for just 12 Christian women at a time. Held at one of two stunning locations on the Central California Coast chosen for their beauty, their serenity, and their distance from the noise of everyday life - each setting provides the perfect environment for reflection, restoration, and quiet moments alone with God. These are upscale, peaceful, beautiful spaces where something holy can happen.

Women will encounter testimonies of eternity. They will gain a new perspective that brings freedom. They will rediscover who they are now and what God has planned for them in this new season. And they will leave different than they arrived.

Loss often brings isolation. At The Turning Point Retreat, women discover they are no longer walking alone.

This is not grief counseling.

This is not a conference.

This is a Turning Point.

For the women who attend, every detail has been thoughtfully considered from personalized welcome gifts, special sessions created specifically for deep reflection and growth, unique heartfelt teachings, and take-home gifts to continue their journey long after the retreat ends. Every detail matters, because these women deserve nothing less than excellence.

What I bring to this work goes far beyond passion and calling.

Over the years I have led and helped plan Christian women’s ministry retreats, seminars, conferences, and fundraising events - overseeing every detail, every person, and every moving part required to bring something meaningful and memorable to life. At the time I never connected those experiences to something of my own. But looking back now I can see clearly God was equipping me, step by step, for this exact moment. The experience fits perfectly. The calling fits even better.

I want to be completely honest with you about where I stand.

Launching The Turning Point Retreat requires costs that are significant for a woman in my current season of life - creating a professional presence that reaches Christian women who are ready for their next chapter, developing the unique and personal elements that make this retreat unlike anything else available, and covering the operational details required to bring this vision from calling to reality. What makes The Turning Point different cannot be duplicated  because my stories cannot be duplicated. My experiences cannot be replicated. And the women who attend will know that from the moment they arrive.

I feel like I am going to need a miracle. The website, marketing, and all of this entails is a huge undertaking, and financially I need help to accomplish it.

And that is exactly how I know this is really God.

Because sometimes God calls us to do something that seems impossible. And sometimes that is the clearest sign that it is truly Him doing the calling.

Total Campaign Goal: $15,000

Every dollar goes directly toward laying the foundation and launching a ministry that will offer 4 to 6 retreats per year - each one limited to a maximum of 12 women to keep the experience intimate, personal, and truly transformational. The first retreat is planned for Fall 2026. I believe once the word gets out, there will be a waiting list because there is nothing else like this out there for Christian women who are ready to go from Loss to Living Again.

Your gift could reach a widow who has been silently asking God if He still has a plan for her life  or a woman quietly wondering “What am I supposed to do now?” Your gift could be the thing that helps her find out the answer.

Whether you give financially, pray over this campaign, or simply share it with one person, you are part of this mission. You are part of what God is doing in the lives of women who have lost so much and need to know they have not lost everything. There is more for them.

“Sometimes our greatest calling comes after our greatest loss.”

Will you help me reach them?

Every gift matters. Every prayer is powerful. Every share could be the thing that finds the woman who needs this most.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

In His grace, with unshakeable hope,

Cynthia Muir

Author · Speaker · Founder, The Turning Point Retreat

“We do not grieve like those who have no hope.” — 1 Thessalonians 4:13