Category: Life Journey

What Resilience Has Taught Me (Part 2)

The Many Faces of Resilience

Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be
mature and complete, not lacking anything. –James 1:4

Most people go through hard seasons. But some folks get more than their share. The death of a child. A high-conflict divorce. Estrangement. Loss that doesn’t just sting—it reshapes everything.

I remember watching a documentary years ago about centenarians—

people who live to be 100 or more.

One thing they had in common?

How they handled loss. Some saw it as devastation. Some couldn’t seem to overcome it. Yet, the centenarians saw loss as a stepping stone. A place to pause, reflect, and then move forward with deeper wisdom.

Image Source: Publicdomainpictures.net

So, what do I think  grit looks like?

G – Groundedness   R – Resilience   I – Instinct   T – Tenacity

Resilience is part of grit. And grit is made up of all kinds of things:

  • Against all Odds
  • Communication
  • Courage
  • Creativity
  • Faith
  • Growth mindset
  • Hope
  • Listening
  • Motivation
  • Passion
  • Positivity
  • Perseverance
  • Practical Application
  • Purposeful Actions
  • Stick-to-it-ness

Faith and hope are not just add-ons. They’re the fuel. They remind us that we’re not alone in the struggle and that even in the darkest seasons, light is still possible.

Resilience doesn’t mean we never fall.
It means we rise—sometimes slowly,
sometimes shakily.
But always with the possibility of grace.

What about you? What has resilience taught you?

#FacesOfResilience #Undefeated #PoetryAndPrayer #Faith #SacredStories #FaithOverFear #QuietStrength #LoveThatLasts #Grit #Resilience

What Resilience Has Taught Me (Part 1)

The Many Faces of Resilience

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. —Romans 5:3 4

Resilience is another word for grit. You know—that special sauce that keeps you going when life throws more lemons than you know what to do with. Some days, you want to drown in them. Other days, you just sit in the sour.

My friend Nadia knows all about grit. Life knocked her down more times than I can count. At one point, her only option was a shelter—until some generous friends took her in.

She patched together four part-time jobs just to keep her finances afloat. And then, something remarkable happened. A family friend—connected to the spouse she separated from—heard she was struggling. She felt God nudging her to help. So she wrote Nadia a check each month, in the exact amount of the gap between her income and expenses. That’s how Nadia made it through. An angel, truly.

ImageSource: Pinterest

Even then, she kept bouncing back. Like Bozo the clown from Romper Room—remember that? You’d knock it down, and it popped right back up. That was Nadia.

Resilience isn’t just about bouncing back.
It’s about how we carry what tried to break us—
and what we choose to build from it.

#FacesOfResilience #Undefeated #PoetryAndPrayer #Faith #SacredStories #FaithOverFear #QuietStrength #LoveThatLasts #Grit #Resilience

Resilience as the Language of Love

The Many Faces of Resilience

Even to your old age and gray hairs, I am he, I am he who will sustain you. – Isaiah 46:4

Some forms of resilience are quiet. Steady. Deeply relational. They don’t show up in headlines or big moments—but  in the daily choices to love, protect, and prepare.

My friend Dakota has an adult son on the autism spectrum. His son is non-verbal, yet their connection is something special. They’ve built a language of gestures, glances, and shared rhythms that only they understand.

Dakota has worked from home since his son’s birth. That flexibility has allowed him to be present in ways that matter. Not only to his son, but his daughter as well–through caregiving, companionship, and consistency.

Image Source & Credit: Creative Commons Public Domain
“Autism” by hepingting is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

His bond with his son is beautiful. But Dakota carries a  weight. One that many caregivers know too well. He won’t live forever. And the question of who will care for his son in the years to come is never far from his mind.

This kind of resilience isn’t just about enduring the present. It’s about planning for a future you may never see. It’s about loving someone so deeply that you spend years building a safety net for them. Even though they may never fully understand. But will absolutely need.

Resilience is love that prepares.
It’s the quiet courage of a father who speaks
a language only his son knows.
And who’s already writing the next chapter for him,
one act of care at a time.

#FacesOfResilience #Undefeated #PoetryAndPrayer #Faith #SacredStories #FaithOverFear #QuietStrength #LoveThatLasts #Grit #Resilience

A Life of Devotion: Resilience Over Time

The Many Faces of Resilience

Let us not grow weary in doing good,
for at the proper time we will reap a harvest. –Galatians 6:9

Some resilience isn’t built in a moment. It’s built over decades of care, adaptation, and love.

Denita always wanted children. Her first husband didn’t. That difference eventually led to divorce. Later, she remarried and had a daughter with Down syndrome. From the beginning, Denita poured herself into therapies, support systems, and advocacy. Day after day. Year after year.

Image Source: Creative Commons Public Domain – Framed Embroidery Chromosome Art” by Hey Paul Studios is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Her daughter now thrives in a group home. She’s independent in her own way, and Denita is proud. Recently, Denita’s husband passed away. Another chapter of loss. Another shift in the rhythm of her life.

She’s grieving, yes. But also continuing. Her life has been one long act of love—and now, of renewal.

Resilience is devotion.
It’s the grace to keep loving, even as life changes shape.

#FacesOfResilience #Undefeated #PoetryAndPrayer #Faith #SacredStories #FaithOverFear #QuietStrength #LoveThatLasts #Grit #Resilience

The Anchor: Holding the Pieces Together

The Many Faces of Resilience

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. –Psalm 46:1

When the center of a family is lost, someone often steps in to hold the pieces together. Sometimes, that someone never expected to be the anchor. But they become it anyway.

Maria’s story is one of these.

She’s a nurse. Her husband worked in healthcare, too. They raised three children together. Then, cancer came—and took him. Her kids were just stepping into adulthood.

Image Credit: “cancer cells” by kanasorhokeshawnidioescagozity is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.

Her only son married, and not long after, he passed away from cancer, too. Her oldest daughter had two young  children when she was diagnosed with a different kind of cancer. She passed away as well, leaving behind two little ones under the age of eight.

Could Maria have dropped out of life? Absolutely. No one would’ve blamed her. But she didn’t.

She became the steady presence. The anchor.  The one who showed up for her daughter’s children, her son-in-law, and the rest of her grieving family.

She didn’t ask for all the roles life handed her. But she embraced them with the fierceness of a mother lion. Her strength became shelter—for everyone else.

Resilience is sometimes quiet.
It looks like caregiving, consistency, and love that steadies others. It’s the presence that says,
“I’ve got you.”
Even when no one says it back.

#FacesOfResilience #Undefeated #PoetryAndPrayer #Faith #SacredStories #FaithOverFear #QuietStrength #LoveThatLasts #Grit #Resilience

Resilience in the Long Battle

The Many Faces of Resilience

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,
endures all things. –1 Corinthians 13:7

Some battles stretch across years. And some love does, too.

What does a family do when a child is suffering and no one can quite figure out why?

Patrice and her husband spent over a decade trying answer that question. Their eldest daughter, Angela, struggled with an eating disorder that didn’t follow a straight path. They traveled across the country, seeking help, juggling care for their other children. All the while trying to maintain a regular routine.

Image Source: https://healthmatch.io/blog/what-is-disordered-eating-signs-symptoms-and-support

Angela passed away in her late twenties. And after that, nothing felt normal anymore.

This is a story of fierce parental love. Of showing up, even when the outcome is uncertain. Even when the heart breaks.

Resilience is found in the long haul—
in the love that never gives up.

#FacesOfResilience #Undefeated #PoetryAndPrayer #Faith #SacredStories #FaithOverFear #QuietStrength #LoveThatLasts #Grit #Resilience

Layers of Loss: Resilience in the Flood

The Many Faces of Resilience

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and
saves those who are crushed in spirit.—Psalm 34:18

What happens when loss doesn’t come in waves, but in a flood?

Image Source & Credit: All You Need Is Love: Creative Commons Puble Domain
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Lolita’s story is one of those. She spent years navigating gender identity questions with her youngest child. Big questions, tender ones, ones that stretched her heart in every direction. During that time, her marriage began to unravel. Eventually, it ended after nearly twenty years.

And then, the unthinkable. Her youngest child slipped into another world with an accidental overdose. Her oldest was still in college, trying to make sense of it all.

There were no easy answers. No quick fixes. Just the slow, painful process of rebuilding. Of choosing life in the midst of heartbreak. Of waking up each day and deciding to keep loving, even when everything hurt.

Resilience is not the absence of pain.
It’s the decision to keep loving through it.

#FacesOfResilience #Undefeated #PoetryAndPrayer #Faith #SacredStories #FaithOverFear #QuietStrength #LoveThatLasts #Grit #Resilience

Breaking Ground: Resilience in a Male-Dominant Field

The Many Faces of Resilience

She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. –Proverbs 31:7

Some resilience is forged in the workplace. Not in big, dramatic moments—but in the quiet, persistent push against systems that weren’t built with you in mind.

Debbie and Donna, twin engineers, stepped into a world where women were often underappreciated and undervalued. One went into construction, the other into electronics. They faced gender discrimination—sometimes subtle, sometimes not. But they kept going.

Image Credit: Office of History, HQ, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
CreativeCommonsPublicDomain

Debbie built her own consulting firm from the ground up. Donna joined a large manufacturing company and later faced something even harder—the sudden loss of her husband. She was left to raise three children on her own.

Their paths diverged, but their strength was shared. They didn’t just survive. They built, led, and nurtured—teams, families, futures.

Resilience sometimes looks like showing up again.
And again. And again.

#FacesOfResilience #Undefeated #PoetryAndPrayer #Faith #SacredStories #FaithOverFear #QuietStrength #LoveThatLasts #Grit #Resilience

The Spark of Resilience – Introduction

The Many Faces of Resilience

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing a few stories – real faces of resilience. Each post opens with a short reflection or question, followed by a story. Then it closes with a gentle takeaway or invitation. Nothing fancy. Just honest moments and quiet strength.

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair—2 Corinthians 4:8

Resilience isn’t just about bouncing back. It’s about the process. The enduring, adapting, and sometimes simply continuing.

When my friend Richard Kelley shared his poem Undefeated, it stirred something in me. It got me thinking about the quiet warriors I’ve known. Maybe you’ve known a few, too. The ones who’ve faced unimaginable loss and still found a way to live, love, and lead.

This series is for them. For the ones who rise, not with accolades, but with quiet courage and a faith that moves mountains.

I asked Richard if I could share his poem with you, and he graciously said yes. It’s a piece that speaks to the heart of this series—what it means to keep going, even when life tries to knock you down.

Here is his poem:

Undefeated by Richard Kelly
Used by permission 10/10/25

#FacesOfResilience #Undefeated #PoetryAndPrayer #Faith #SacredStories #FaithOverFear #QuietStrength #LoveThatLasts #Grit #Resilience