Hope in Grief
 | Author:
Ellie West, Certified NLP Coach/Practitioner of Hypnosis and Timeline Therapy
Inside Inspiration: Certified NLP Coach/Practitioner Of Hypnosis and Timeline Therapy |
Hope in Grief
Ellie West
Certified NLP Coach/Practitioner of Hypnosis and Timeline Therapy
On this date, December 19, 1994, as I held my dad’s hand, he took his last breath on earth. It was a moment I will always treasure, a date forever etched in my heart and mind.
I can still recall the moments leading up to his death. We had just moved back to Montana in August 1994, and that was when we first learned Dad had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.
I remember feeling deep sadness even as I carried the excitement of being home after sixteen years away. We would be able to celebrate the holidays with Mom and Dad, and our daughter would finally spend time with her Grandma and Grandpa. That mattered deeply to me, especially because I had never known my own grandparents; they had passed before I was born.
It was a turbulent and challenging season, yet also one marked by growth and healing. Moving back to Montana meant a long commute for me and no job for Bill, yet we were determined to make the most of that season without regret.
As a woman of faith, I knew deep in my heart that the most powerful thing I could do was pray. I prayed for my dad’s physical healing.
People often say, “My prayers don’t work because what I pray for doesn’t come to pass.”
But what if we looked at prayer differently?
Yes, I prayed for Dad’s healing, and God chose not to heal his physical body. God alone knows the day and hour of our birth, and the day and hour of our death. What I did not understand at the time was that God honored my prayers.
He healed our family.
He brought closure to unanswered questions.
He brought us together for Thanksgiving, the last one we would share with Dad.
God allowed each of us, one by one, to speak what was in our hearts before Dad took his final breath.
He gave us sacred time, with Dad and with one another.
Each of the eight of us experienced those final days differently, and each perspective reflected the healing we needed individually.
Those moments became treasured memories, gifts of time I still hold close.
This year has been hard for many. Loss, grief, loneliness, sadness, and uncertainty have touched countless lives.
If that is you today, I want to encourage you:
Have faith.
Believe in something greater than yourself.
Allow others to walk beside you, to be a beacon of light, to hold you close in friendship and prayer.
Death need not be the end. I believe it is the beginning, the beginning of something new, the hope we long for.
For those who have recently lost someone dear, remember this: faith and struggle can coexist. It is okay to grieve.
Even now, I mourn my dad’s loss each year during this week. And yet, my hope rests in this one truth, that one day, we will be reunited in the heavenly realm.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.— Revelation 21:4
Today, I pray for those whose hearts are tender and often heavy. You see every tear shed and every ache words cannot express. Thank You for being near the brokenhearted and for holding us when we feel weak.
For those who are grieving today, bring comfort where there is pain, peace where there is turmoil, and hope where none seems to be.
Wrap them in Your presence and remind them they are not alone. Give them strength for today and gentle assurance for tomorrow.
Thank You for the gift of memories, for the sacred moments of shared love, and for the promise that death is not the end.
Help us trust You when answers feel far away.
Teach us to lean on one another, to extend grace, and to walk alongside those who mourn with compassion and love.
May Your light shine in our darkest places, and may Your peace guard our hearts.
If you are grieving today, don’t walk alone. You are seen, you are held. And hope is still alive. 🤍
Reach out. Share their name. Tell their story. Let someone pray with you. And if all you can do right now is breathe and hold on, that is enough.
What we once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes a part of us.” — Helen Keller
To connect & follow Ellie on FB/IG Coachelliewest
