Along the wooded trail behind my home, a birch tree arches in a graceful curve as it stretches across the pathway. It's a veteran of a good many northern New England ice storms and knows what it is to bow low under a weight of snow and frozen rain. Even though its tip-top branches have bent to mere feet above the frozen ground, it has not broken under its load. Today, with the remnants of broken maples and oaks all around, it stands, and my imagination construes a doorway as I walk the path beneath its welcome.

James labels this brand of gritty perseverance as steadfastness in the life of a believer. He's writing to Christians who have felt the icy blast of persecution, resulting in "trials of various kinds," and he urges them to cooperate with God's bending and shaping methods embedded in those trials (James 1:2–3).

God works the sanctifying miracle of becoming "perfect and complete, lacking in nothing" according to his own wise design, and for me, mothering four rowdy sons (who have grown into godly men) has been the force God has used to produce the bent-birch resilience I long for. Two vital components of my Christ-following life have been involved as God works in me to "let steadfastness have its full effect" (James 1:4).

Theology Empowers Resilient Moms

When mothers are brittle and fragile, we snap, and the sharp edges of our breaking wound our families and leave us full of regret. Perseverance in strong habits of holiness keeps us connected with God's word and rooted in what is true about God's character. He's in control. He's good. He's never taken by surprise.