When Grief Leaves You With Nothing Left to GiveWhen Grief Leaves You With Nothing Left to Give
The Call with Nancy Sabato
Nurse and author Jill Hoven shares how losing both parents to serious health issues drew her into memory wellness work and a deeper dependence on God. The conversation focuses on grief, dementia care, and learning to accept help while staying rooted in faith and Scripture.
12:04•26 Oct 2026
When Grief Leaves You Empty: Jill Hoven on Faith, Dementia and Letting Others Help
Episode Overview
- Grief can feel like being “a ship without a rudder”, and it’s normal to admit to God, “I can’t do this anymore, but I know you can.”
- Small steps of obedience can grow into new callings, as seen in Jill’s shift from cardiac nursing to memory wellness work after her mum’s death.
- Supporting a loved one with dementia may involve grieving who they were while still choosing to be present with who they are now.
- Staying connected to God’s word, worship and Christian community can steady the mind and heart during seasons of loss and heavy caregiving.
- It is vital to seek proper diagnosis for memory issues and to accept practical and emotional help from others instead of trying to hide or handle everything alone.
“People want to love you. Let them love you.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety and beyond? This conversation on The Call with Nancy Sabato follows nurse and author Jill Hoven as she talks about grief, dementia, and leaning on God when life feels like too much.
Jill shares how losing her mum suddenly over 22 years ago left her feeling, in her words, “like a ship without a rudder.” As a cardiac ICU nurse, she felt “almost ill-equipped” when her mum abruptly lost her memory. That painful experience unexpectedly nudged her towards memory wellness work, mission trips, and new forms of service that she never saw coming.
She explains how each small act of obedience felt like what she calls “the miracle of the doors” – God starting her with something small, then gradually giving her bigger responsibilities as her confidence and trust grew. Years later, that training ground helped her walk with her dad through dementia and aphasia.
Even with all her nursing knowledge, she admits that “knowledge did not remove the personal weight of grief”, especially as she grieved the person he had been while still caring for the person he was becoming. For anyone burnt out from caring for others – whether through addiction, illness, or long-term caregiving – Jill offers very practical spiritual habits: staying close to Scripture, crying out honestly to God, and letting people in. “People want to love you.
Let them love you,” she says, stressing that you don’t have to manage dementia, grief, or emotional overload on your own. The episode especially speaks to Christians who are exhausted, stuck between loss and responsibility, and wondering how to keep going without numbing out. Jill’s gentle invitation is simple: stay connected to God, seek a good diagnosis when memory issues arise, and take one small step towards letting someone help.
So who could you allow to care for you a little more today?
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