What I’ve Learned From My Kids About Resilience 🦋

Being a mom is my greatest joy and my fiercest calling. “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him” (Psalm 127:3). My three kids have stretched me, refined me, and taught me lessons I never knew I needed. Now, I haven’t walked this road alone, my husband, their dad, has been right beside me for 25 years. He is steady, committed, and funny, and he reminds all of us what faith, love, and commitment look like in the hardest seasons. Together, our family has discovered that resilience isn’t just something you teach, it’s something you live!! In the middle of ordinary days and extraordinary battles, my kids have modeled grit, courage, and the power of RISING again. The very truths I cling to have often been reflected right back to me by the very ones I thought I was leading.

💙 Caleb: Perseverance in the Everyday and Courage in the Crisis

Caleb’s journey has been anything but conventional. He got the incredible opportunity to play college football at Hardin-Simmons in Abilene and gave it a full year before realizing that path wasn’t for him. His heart was always pulled toward trade school and HVAC, and that’s exactly where he planted his feet. Caleb is strong, in personality and in body and he has always had a way of taking control of situations, leading with confidence even when things get hard. Watching him choose his own way has reminded me that resilience is often about listening to your gut, making pivots when you need to, and having the courage to take a different road.

But Caleb’s resilience didn’t just show up in career choices, it showed up on April 4, 2023. That day, he was the first to find his little sister Chloe unresponsive. In the most terrifying moment of his life, he didn’t freeze, but instead he called 911, did the hard work of waking her, dressing her, and helping to calm her until help arrived. Later, he showed up again, this time with flowers at the ER and a mouse cake he picked up on the way home because he wanted her to know she was loved, no matter what. That day changed him too. It carved into him a deeper compassion, a fierceness, and a tenderness that humbles me as his mom. Caleb reminds me that resilience isn’t only about showing up for yourself, it’s about showing up for the people you love, even when it’s hard.

📖 “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:13

🎺 Jacob: Pivoting With Purpose and Carrying the Weight

Jacob’s story is one of courage in the pivot. He started his college journey with a plan and then realized that plan wasn’t truly his calling. That takes bravery, especially when the world tells you to “stick it out.” Instead, he leaned into the unknown and shifted to nursing, a path that feels closer to his purpose (and maybe a little bit like his mom).

But April 4, 2023 almost broke him. Jacob was there that day too, and the weight of watching his sister in crisis left a mark. He and Chloe have always had a special bond, just 22 months apart and so similar in looks that when they were little, I used to put a bow in Jacob’s hair just to imagine what Chloe might look like as she grew. (That memory still makes me laugh, Jacob probably not so much!) Their closeness means her pain cuts deeply for him, but it also means his love and protection run deep.

And if you know Jacob, you know he’s hilarious. He’s quick-witted, and his humor is one of his greatest gifts. He uses it to bring light into heavy places and to make others feel seen and valued. Jacob’s resilience is quiet, but strong. He has a sensitivity to people’s needs and a way of showing up with compassion that reminds me resilience isn’t just about grit, but it’s about heart. He shows me that resilience can look like carrying the weight of a hard day, pressing pause, and then choosing to move forward with intention.

📖 “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2

🩷 Chloe: Rising in the Fire

Chloe’s journey has been marked by battles no teenager should have to face. Anxiety, depression, and seasons of deep struggle have shaped her story, but so have kindness, courage, and a heart bigger than just about anyone I know. She is fierce, even when life feels overwhelming, and though she can be scattered at times, she is stepping boldly into her own.

What inspires me most is that Chloe isn’t afraid to face her past, but she doesn’t stay stuck there. She doesn’t dwell in the pain, she looks back only to learn, and then she presses forward. Her past is a reminder, not of failure, but of where she never wants to go again. It’s also a reminder of the fierce love of her brothers, her family, and the unshakable love of God who carried her through.

Chloe is finding her voice, little by little. She is learning that her story matters, that her scars don’t define her, and that she has the power to use what she’s walked through to bring hope to others. I’ve watched her light up a room with her humor, pour her emotions into art, and lean on her service dog when the world felt too heavy. Resilience for Chloe doesn’t always roar, but rather it shows up in quiet strength, in laughter after tears, in trying again tomorrow. She is living proof that even in the fire, beauty and strength can rise.

📖 “He gives beauty for ashes, joy for mourning, praise for despair…” Isaiah 61:3

🔥 The Warrior Mom Truth

Resilience isn’t one-size-fits-all. Sometimes it’s steady perseverance. Sometimes it’s pivoting when life shifts. And sometimes it’s rising from the ground when the weight should have crushed you. My kids have taught me it’s NOT about never falling, but it’s about refusing to stay down.

And moms, the same fire lives in you. You don’t have to carry it all or prove your worth by doing everything. You just have to keep rising, again and again, anchored in love, armed with faith, and fueled by persistence!! Resilience isn’t only their story, it’s ours too! And maybe the greatest gift we give our children is showing them that even in the fire, we still rise.

📖 “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31

📖 Scripture to Hold Onto

“Though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again…” Proverbs 24:16

Warrior Mom, you are stronger than you think, and your story, just like your child’s. is still being written. 🦋

With love,

🩷 Jenn Robb/Warrior Mom

💛 P.S. If you’re looking for some of my favorite resources, books, and tools that have encouraged me on this journey, you can check out my Warrior Mom Amazon Storefront, I’ve curated it just for you. Link: https://www.amazon.com/shop/warriormom_jennrobb?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_aipsfshop_R033BBH8PBYNP2Y6RWTS

Come hang with us in the Warrior Mom Facebook group. It is a space where we remind each other that we’re not machines. We’re moms. We are Warrior Moms. And we need rest too.
FB Link: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/16faoff9Rn/

🩷 Stay tuned for ALL my NEW podcast episode releases. Lots new ones releasing this month!

And if you haven’t read Warrior Mom Rising yet, now’s the time.
It's not a fluff book. It is real, it’s a raw, Spirit-led reminder that your pain has purpose and you are NOT alone.
Amazon Book Link: https://a.co/d/fT4eEdy

There are FREE resources for you on my Warrior Mom website: https://warriormomcoach.net/