God saw her, He knew her better than anyone, and He loved her beyond what she could comprehend – for as long as she could remember, she knew it was all true. The precious faith of a child – that’s what she had … but the trials she would one day face would rock her to her core. It put her at a crossroads with the most difficult decision she would ever make – would she draw near to God, or would she turn away from Him?

On Oct. 20, 2024, Penny Hazelton stood in the sanctuary of her church with a microphone in her trembling hands. She was about to share the story of what she’d been through – what God had carried her through – before she and her three granddaughters were baptized.

“How do you take 54 years of life’s trials and God’s glory and put it into one testimony?” she began. She’d written out her testimony several times, trying to figure out how to put it into words … but now, she drew from the strength of her Lord and Savior. She knew that he would give her the right words.

On Oct. 5, 2023, her oldest child, Justin Slone, had an aneurysm, which left him in a comatose state, unable to speak. She clung tightly to her faith in Jesus, visiting him in the hospital daily for two weeks.

“I was told to speak to him, so I did, every day,” she said. “I went in, I played KLOVE, told him how much I loved him, how proud of him I was, how much we needed him, and unfortunately, I still lost him.”

An indescribable pain was written all over her face as she described her son’s passing. A mother’s worst fear had become her reality.

“I’ve always been a believer since I was a little girl,” Penny continued. “I can’t remember a time I didn’t believe, but losing my son … it rocked me.”

She wasn’t sure how to move forward, but she knew she had no choice but to press on. Justin’s three daughters – Penny’s granddaughters – had lost their father, and they needed her.

Courageously, she stepped in the gap and made a home for her granddaughters, Alliah, Elaina and Payetynn. She wouldn’t have had it any other way. After all, as a mother of five and grandmother of 15, family was her life, her everything.

But God wasn’t done testing Penny’s faith.

Justin had also left behind his fiance, Christian, pregnant with their baby girl on the way. On January 23, 2024, Serenity Camarynn Slone was born, named after her father’s favorite prayer: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Since Justin couldn’t be there for the birth, Penny bravely stood in for him, cutting the umbilical cord and doing everything he would’ve done if he was there. A calm and joyful baby, Serenity was a ray of hope for their entire family, and they thanked God for her.

Then, on April 11, 2024, three-month-old Serenity suddenly passed away.

“My heart was so shattered,” Penny revealed. “I just couldn’t fathom the pain … and I just kept asking God – Why? Why?”

In the depths of her despair, God continued to hold Penny and her family in his loving embrace. He understands and has experienced every kind of pain – especially the pain of losing a child. He sent her messages often in the form of “little scriptures that would pop up to me here and there.” One passage in particular kept coming up again and again:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts; neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

– Isaiah 55:8-9

Although it didn’t take away her pain, these words filled Penny with God’s perfect peace – a peace that surpasses understanding. She knew there was only one way to survive this tragedy – by drawing near to Him. 

“I’m happy and sad,” Penny admitted. “Obviously, the Lord had a pretty big job for my son up there, and my granddaughter … I stay and I go on for my grandkids and my other children and throw my life into the Lord, in hopes that one day I’ll get to see his glorious presence and get to hug my grandbaby and son again.”

About a month and a half later, Penny stood shivering in the cold December air, alongside her granddaughters; Serenity’s mother, Christian; and several others there to attend a candlelight vigil at the Angel of Hope Prayer Garden in Gethsemane Cemetery in St. Marys. The vigil is held each year for those who have grieved the loss of a child, as well as their family, friends and community members. 

It was at this ceremony that I first met Penny. My heart stirred as I heard her speak of the heart-wrenching loss she’d experienced, and after the ceremony concluded, I felt the Holy Spirit’s nudge to speak to her. I gave Penny a hug and told her I would be praying for her and her family.

I hope and pray Penny’s story inspires you as it did me – a living example of how God can redeem any tragedy or broken situation. When life’s trials overwhelm us to the point of giving up, you always have a choice to make – to run toward God or to run away from Him.

Choosing to seek God will not magically make all your problems go away. Life will still be full of trials and struggle … but God will empower you with the strength you need to endure.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecution, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

– 2 Corinthians 12:9-10