In 2018 – after enduring a “season of hell” that included a miscarriage, a concussion, a head-on car crash and pneumonia – Paula stepped back from her two time-consuming jobs at ABC News: co-anchoring “GMA Weekend” and co-hosting “The View.” Though she remained at the network as senior national correspondent and creator of the podcast “Journeys of Faith,” she felt lost because so much of her identity had been tied up in her high-profile job titles and pursuit of career advancement. But Paula knew that God was telling her to slow down so she could focus more on her husband, children and faith. And that’s when she discovered that her struggles were echoed by her father’s own experiences.

After his death, Paula discovered that her father had kept journals in which he reflected on his life. They had been stashed in old boxes, and nobody knew about them. Ed wrote about growing up in a Lebanese Catholic family, but never experiencing a real relationship with God. He struggled to find peace in his soul, searching for it through alcohol, transcendental meditation and career advancement. But nothing worked.

It wasn’t until Ed was in his 40s and already married with three children that he found the Morningstar Christian Community, an ecumenical group born out of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal movement. That is the place where God became an active presence in Ed’s life, helping to save his marriage and giving him a deeper love and appreciation for his family. Paula was born in the aftermath of this spiritual awakening when Ed found his peace in God. During a “Christopher Closeup” interview about her new book “Called Out: Why I Traded Two Dream Jobs For a Life of True Calling,” Paula said, “My dad was a brilliant man, an engineer. He had multiple opportunities to move up the corporate ladder, but he didn’t [take them] because he wanted to be home with his family.”

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On the Saturday before he passed away, Ed was lying in his hospital bed when Paula noticed he was crying. She asked if it was because he was in pain. Unable to speak, he shook his head, “No.” She then asked if he was crying because he was sad. Again, he shook his head. Paula then said, “Are you crying because you’re overwhelmed by the love and the memories and the life that you lived and the people you’re surrounded with?”

Ed nodded, “Yes.”

For Paula, it was a reassurance that she, too, had made the right decision in prioritizing family over career. And as heartbreaking as it was losing her father, her faith gives her reassurance that this separation is temporary, not final. She said, “When you lose a parent, it’s like your tectonic plates shift. It’s so foundational. I can’t imagine saying goodbye and not having the peace that I’m going to see him again. Dad, I love you, and we’re going to be together forever.”

For free copies of the Christopher News Note FINDING HEALING AFTER TRAGEDY OR LOSS, write: The Christophers, 5 Hanover Square, New York, NY 10004; or e-mail: [email protected]               

Tony Rossi is executive director of The Christophers.