Missy Robertson shares powerful story behind new baby: 'We're open to whatever the Lord has for us'
For years, Jase and Missy Robertson of “Duck Dynasty” fame have supported causes that encourage women to choose life in the face of an unwanted pregnancy. Just seven weeks ago, their convictions were put to the test when they received a call to help a newborn in need.
One of the ministries in which the Robertsons are involved helps women coming out of sex trafficking and drug abuse. About three years ago, Missy Robertson revealed, her husband baptized one of the women in the ministry, “but she, unfortunately, fell back into that lifestyle.”
“We had a relationship with her, but we had not talked to her or even seen her; I didn't even know she was still alive,” the 50-year-old mother and grandmother told The Christian Post. “And got a phone call from our area hospital that said she was in jail, had a baby boy, and signed him over to us. He’d been in the hospital for two days, and they said, ‘He’s ready to go.’”
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“It was a shock,” she added. “We weren’t expecting it. We are not signed up to be foster parents or anything like that.”
Reeling, the Robertsons decided to spend time in prayer, seeking wise counsel before making a decision: “I said, ‘I have to think about this and pray about this. I may not be the right person to do this. I don't want to take him home to a chaotic home, pawning him off to people all the time when he needs to be secure and loved and loved on,’” she said. “There were so many important factors to consider.”
It was Jase Robertson’s words, she said, that made the answer obvious.
“He said two things: ‘One, she chose life. She had not always done that in the past. Two, she came back to the people who showed her Jesus.’”
As those words settled into her “brain and heart,” Missy Robertson said it was clear that she and her husband were being called to take in the newborn. Shortly after they received that phone call, the baby joined the Robertson's home.
“The Lord just opened up the doors. I really did not think that we were going to be able to have him in our house full time,” she said. “And we have had him except for just a few nights where we had to travel. We have had him in our home every day and night. I think we've given him that security.”
What the future holds, the “Duck Dynasty” star said, remains unknown, as the newborn’s birth mother has indicated she hopes to one day care for him herself.
“He’s not adoptable right now; he's not available,” she shared. “We're waiting to see about her situation … it’s not just cut and dry. … It’s challenging and enlightening, but we're just hoping that we can be there to support the mother right now.”
Just weeks before the Robertsons made the life-altering decision to welcome a newborn, Missy Robertson had been gearing up to promote her latest book, Because You’re My Family, a children’s book that depicts the journey of a family who has adopted.
“My father-in-law (Phil Robertson) said to us, ‘Wow, what a way to market a book,’” she said with a chuckle. “We started laughing. It was just so funny; it felt so surreal.”
The Louisiana native shared that she was inspired to write the book after discovering she’d be a grandmother for the first time. In December, Jase and Missy Robertson’s son, Reed, and his wife, Brighton, became parents to a baby girl.
“I started thinking, ‘What if I could contribute something to my grandchild’s library or even encourage parents somehow to start that routine with their children and get the Word of God into them?’” she said.
“I wanted to write a book not just for children, but for parents to be able to use it as a tool to explain what unconditional love is,” Robertson continued. “And it's not just about the earthly parents to their children. It's a mirror of what the Lord did for us; what God did for us, for His Son Jesus. God orchestrated the idea of family; that was His idea. This book, I think, is just precious and lovely and all things good and interesting and reassuring. I think it just turned out so wonderfully well.”
A mother of four, Robertson is passionate about family and encouraging families to discover God’s plan for them. She challenged the Church to come alongside single mothers and those struggling, stressing that doing so begins with “supporting and talking positively about life itself.”
She revealed that she was once asked if she ever considered aborting her daughter, Mia, who was born with a cleft lip and palate and has had to undergo numerous surgeries over the course of her life.
“I said, ‘Mia was created by the ultimate Creator on purpose. And everything about her is intentional. She’s a life, and life should be celebrated. Abortion never crossed our minds,’” she recalled. “It’s important to take a stand and back up what you believe.”
Through her new children’s book, Robertson said she hopes to encourage mothers, especially, to raise their children to know and love the Lord.
“The moms are the cornerstone of the family in terms of nurturing our children to choose right and wrong and to have that heart for the right. I pray this book is just another resource for parents to start at home,” she said.
Though the forthcoming months, or perhaps years, remain uncertain in her and her husband’s lives, Robertson encouraged Christians to be open to whatever God has planned for them — even if it means welcoming in a newborn.
“As I said, we weren’t on a list to have a baby. But His timing is perfect. Jase and I are open to whatever the Lord has for us and whatever He’s preparing us for in advance. Whatever that is, is up to the Lord, and we just try to be available.”
Leah M. Klett is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: leah.klett@christianpost.com
