by Jennifer Greene-Sullivan
There are moments in life when everything just… blows up.
Moments that divide your timeline into before and after; moments that steal the breath from your lungs and shake the ground beneath your feet.
I’ve lived through many of those moments.
Six years ago on a Mother’s Day afternoon, our home was broken into; that one act of violation shattered the sense of safety we had known, and life from that point forward was different. The ripple of that event carried far beyond what anyone could see from the outside.
On December 15, 2017, I received a call from my husband. His former wife had filed for sole custody of Bailey. We were blindsided—and desperate for a good attorney. Just the year before, my father dropped dead on our front porch. One week later, we buried my grandmother. All of that happened just as I was cradling my miracle baby, Liam. The joy of new life sat side-by-side with the deepest grief I had ever felt.
Then in 2022, my middle daughter ran away just after turning 17. For 76 days, she was gone. For 76 days, I was a mother with a severed heart, clinging to God with everything I had, working and praying, aching in every fiber of my being.
Time after time, season after season, my life pivoted into pain. It felt like every time I caught my breath, another wave hit. Grief. Conflict. Confusion. Fear. Loss. The list is long.
And yet… I endured. Not because I’m strong, but because He is.
Because of Romans 12:12—
“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” (ESV)
This verse isn’t just a scripture I’ve memorized. It’s a banner over my life: a roadmap for every valley. The verse is a heartbeat that kept me going when I felt completely undone.
What were these moments of tribulation? They were the very crooked places that God, in His mercy, made straight. I don’t know how anyone survives without Jesus. Truly, I don’t know how a person’s soul makes it through the flames without the anchor of the Holy Spirit holding him or her fast.
So if you’re in that kind of moment—one that’s more heinous than anything I’ve mentioned—please hear me: Call out to the Father.
He will send relief.
He will be your defender.
He is your strong right hand.
He is only a breath away.
Don’t give up.
Don’t give in.
Just call His name.
Because in your weakness, He is strong.
In your brokenness, He is present.
In your surrender, He moves.
🙏 Prayer
Father, for the one reading this who feels like their world has blown up—wrap him or her in Your comfort. Remind each person that You are near, that You see the chaos, the grief, the loss—and You are not distant. Be their strong right hand. Hold them through the storm. Restore hope where it’s been stolen. May they find joy even now, rooted in the eternal hope You freely give. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
💡 Challenge
Pause today and pray Romans 12:12 over your life.
Write it down.
Speak it out loud.
Cling to it like a lifeline—because it is.
📖 Romans 12:12 (ESV)
“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”
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