Blessings Come in Threes: Missy Robertson on Motherhood, Faith, and Community

By Stephanie Rische−

The Tenacious Faith Women’s Conference will be featuring Duck Dynasty’s Missy Robertson as keynote of their upcoming event in Chicago on April 29-30. Details TFaithWomen.com.

Missy Robertson might be most recognizable as the wife of one of the bearded stars of the reality TV show Duck Dynasty. She is married to Jase, the COO of Duck Commander, and is mom to three children: Reed, Cole, and Mia.

But there’s a lot more to her life and her story than duck hunting and TV cameras. She and her family have walked through some challenging times over the last few years, and those moments don’t always get captured fully on-screen. She credits her family’s resiliency to God’s faithfulness and the support of their family and community.

A Solid Foundation

Missy grew up surrounded by a community of supportive, loving Christians. Her family was very involved in their church, where her dad was a pastor, and her parents started the Christian school she attended as a child. “I grew up understanding that being a Christian wasn’t just a Sunday thing; it was a lifestyle,” she says. “These godly people — my parents and the people from our church — helped build a strong foundation for my faith. There was always someone around to encourage me and help me. I wasn’t just left to my own devices.”

As Missy grew in her faith, her beliefs gradually became her own. “As wonderful as those people were, of course, they couldn’t get me into heaven. At some point it had to become personal for me. Through those influences, I came to know Jesus personally and have a relationship with him.” That strong foundation is something she is passionate about providing for her children as well. In fact, she and Jase have chosen to send their children to the same Christian school she attended when she was growing up. “I love that my kids have sat at the feet of the same teachers I had,” she says.

A Glimpse into the Robertsons’ Home

“It’s always busy in our house,” Missy says with a laugh. In addition to keeping the family business going, participating in filming sessions for the show, and keeping up with their three children’s activities, they have the added bustle of living near extended family. “It’s been even busier over the last eight years, since we moved across the street from Willie and Korie and their family,” Missy says. “Korie and I grew up together — we were friends as children — and then we married brothers.”

This bond only grew when they had kids, as Missy and Jase’s children are almost the same age as some of Willie and Korie’s kids. “Our daughter, Mia, and Bella are only one year apart, so they’re almost more like siblings than cousins.”

This has turned out to be a significant blessing, because Mia’s journey has not been an easy one.

A Blessing in Disguise

Missy and Jase and their sons, Reed and Cole, were excited to find out they would be adding another baby to the family — a little girl. When the ultrasound revealed that Mia had a cleft lip and palate, they were under the impression that this would be a relatively easy fix. Missy says, “At first my thought was, How quickly can we get this fixed and then go on our merry way?”

But when Mia was 17 days old, she was examined by several doctors and subjected to a battery of tests. “We quickly realized that there was more to this than we thought,” Missy explains. Mia would need at least four surgeries over the first 17 years, and some of these would be extremely invasive, including one that involved removing part of her hip bone to be put in her jaw. She wouldn’t be able to eat normally, and she would have to wear extensive headgear.

“Mia had to spend several days in the hospital before we could take her home,” Missy says. “I spent a lot of that time wondering what people would think of her. It was scary as a parent, knowing I’d have a child with a facial deformity. I knew I’d love my child, but I didn’t know if everyone else would.” From the very beginning, though, their family has rallied around them.

“It’s amazing to have so many people who have loved Mia since she was conceived,” Missy says. When Mia was in the hospital as a newborn, Korie brought her kids to visit. When they got in the car afterward, she asked the kids what they thought of their new cousin. They said, “She’s so cute!” Korie probed a little more. “What did you think about her lip?” Sadie, who was six at the time, replied, “There’s something wrong with her lip?” Missy knew in that moment that Mia would be okay, that their family would be okay. “They saw her for who she is, not what she looks like. Relief washed over me, knowing she’d have a support network from the very start.”

The Blessing of a Strong Marriage

Missy admits that dealing with Mia’s medical needs has not always been easy. But she believes one of the ways God has equipped her family to deal with the challenges is through her marriage to Jase. “We have really leaned on each other and used our strengths to complement each other,” she says. “Jase and I married young, but we took our commitment seriously. I can see now how God designed marriage for times like these. I can’t imagine going through these hard things without Jase by my side.”

Missy’s oldest son is 20 now, and she often talks to him and his friends about relationships. “You have to make sure you have your commitment to Jesus straight before you can focus on a romantic relationship,” she tells them. “You don’t know what the future will hold when you commit to someone. It could be great, and it could be rocky at times. Commitment isn’t just something you feel good about for a while. God set marriage up so we can rely on each other when life throws us a curve.”

The Blessing of a Strong Community

As Missy and Jase have gotten to know other families who are dealing with cleft lips and palates, they have been struck by how many people feel alone as they go through these challenges. “To me, community is so important — both in the church and with our families,” Missy says. “I’ve never had it any other way, and I can’t imagine going through something devastating or overwhelming without that support network.” Whenever Mia faced another surgery, one of the first things they did was to ask their church for prayer. “They hold us up physically, spiritually, and emotionally — with cards, words, food, and prayers.”

This topic of community is one Missy is passionate about, whether people are facing a specific struggle at the moment or not. “If you don’t have that kind of community, find a good church and plug in. Take the brave step of asking for support. Satan doesn’t want us to have community. He wants us to hide in our houses and listen to the lies that God has left us and doesn’t care about us. When hard times come, we need support and help from godly people who will help us focus on the eternal, not just day-to-day problems. This life isn’t eternal, but God is.”

Although the Robertsons’ journey has included some valleys along the way, it’s also evident that God has used the challenges for good. Their whole family, and Mia in particular, have been able to share about God’s faithfulness in a way they wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. “When I think of Mia, my mind goes to Romans 5:3–5: ‘We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.’ That’s what I see becoming a reality in Mia’s life. I’m grateful we’ve been able to use the platform God has given us to bring hope to millions of people.”

Come see Missy Robertson in person! The Tenacious Faith Women’s Conference will be featuring Missy as the keynote of their upcoming event in Chicago on April 29-30. Gather a couple girlfriends and join in on the life-changing event! General admission and VIP meet and greet tickets are available at www.TFaithWomen.com.

An excerpt from the May issue of Today’s Christian Living Magazine.

Stephanie Rische is a senior editor of nonfiction books at Tyndale House Publishers, as well as a freelance writer for publications such as Today’s Christian Woman, Christian Marriage Today, and her.meneutics. She and her husband, Daniel, live in the Chicago area. You can follow Stephanie’s blog about everyday moments of grace at stephanierische.com.