Faithfulness in Exile: Counseling Mothers of Adult Children After Spousal Abuse

Mothers leaving abusive marriages often suffer a second, quieter wound: estrangement from their adult children who either resent them or side with their father. Darby Strickland frames this experience through the biblical lens of exile. She draws on God’s instructions to the Jewish exiles in Jeremiah 29 to guide these mothers toward spiritual growth. Instead of trying to change their children’s minds, this article offers a path forward rooted in faithfulness amid hardship.