After her police officer husband's death on a Lino Lakes freeway in 2005, Jennifer Silvera felt numb and depressed. The 32-year-old widow had big doubts and questions: Where was God? How could she endure the pain of losing her soul mate, the guy she fell in love with at age 16 at Coon Rapids High School? And how would she ever be able to raise their two, energetic youngsters alone? What started out as journaling -- "a place to put my pain" -- turned into a blog dialogue with other people who had experienced loss. And about three years later, it became a story of hurt and eventual healing shaped by the love of friends, God and prayer: "Believe: A Young Widow's Journey Through Brokenness and Back." She wrote it for "anyone who has been disappointed by life, to help them find encouragement and hope," she said.
After her police officer husband's death on a Lino Lakes freeway in 2005, Honduras RPCV Jennifer Silvera felt numb and depressed
Healing words from Jennifer Silvera
Friends, faith and writing have helped the widow of a Lino Lakes officer killed by a driver high on meth in 2005.
By JIM ADAMS, Star Tribune
Last update: June 10, 2009 - 12:07 AM
Caption: an inspirational message found just before Jennifer Silvera's husband died is painted above a door. The last three words “have become my mantra,” she said. Photo: Richard Sennott, Star Tribune
After her police officer husband's death on a Lino Lakes freeway in 2005, Jennifer Silvera felt numb and depressed.
The 32-year-old widow had big doubts and questions: Where was God? How could she endure the pain of losing her soul mate, the guy she fell in love with at age 16 at Coon Rapids High School? And how would she ever be able to raise their two, energetic youngsters alone?
What started out as journaling -- "a place to put my pain" -- turned into a blog dialogue with other people who had experienced loss. And about three years later, it became a story of hurt and eventual healing shaped by the love of friends, God and prayer: "Believe: A Young Widow's Journey Through Brokenness and Back." She wrote it for "anyone who has been disappointed by life, to help them find encouragement and hope," she said.
Shawn Silvera was 32 when he was struck by a man fleeing police who later admitted to using meth and driving more than 100 miles per hour in a stolen car. Silvera was hit in the median after he spread stop sticks on Interstate Hwy. 35W to puncture the car's tires. The driver is now serving time for Silvera's murder.
Silvera was a generous man who worked with police Scout Explorers and had taken a leave from Lino Lakes police to join the Peace Corps with Jennifer in 2001. The couple worked two years in a poor Honduran village where he used his Spanish and technical skills to install computers in a library and train people how to use and maintain them.
After returning home, Silvera wrote his wife poignant letters and she tucked funny love notes in his lunch box, notes he displayed proudly on his police locker door.
