The Prophet Joseph Smith said: “Hell may pour forth its rage like the burning lava of Mount Vesuvius, or of Etna, or of the most terrible of the burning mountains; and yet shall (we stand); and by Him we shall remain, if it shall be for our glory; and in His Almighty name we are determined to endure tribulation as good soldiers unto the end."
In Latin, the name Miles means "Soldier". I know that all of my children need to be good soldiers in the battles they will face in their life. I just had no idea that Miles would literally need to be a soldier from the get-go. 
It is difficult to see our little children having to fight so hard. I want to say, "Just rest, I will happily fight this for you!" That is the look I saw in my own mother's eyes as she sat, fasting, at my bedside in the hospital for over 36 hours last weekend.
Regrettably we each need our own trials to soldier-up to so that we can grow and become strong. And, thank heavens, we are not left alone nor are our children. My sister Kathy sent me this quote from one of my favorite apostles, Elder Holland, yesterday. It filled my eyes with tears and my heart with faith.
"I ask everyone within the sound of my voice to take heart, be filled with faith, and remember the Lord has said He 'would fight [our] battles, [our] children's battles, and [the battles of our] children's children' (D&C 98:37; emphasis added). And what do we do to merit such a defense? We are to 'search diligently, pray always, and be believing. [Then] all things shall work together for [our] good, if [we] walk uprightly and remember the covenant wherewith [we] have covenanted' (D&C 90:24). The latter days are not a time to fear and tremble. They are a time to be believing and remember our covenants."
I am so grateful to be reminded that as we are faithful, we are not alone in our battles but that the Lord will actually fight them with us and, especially, "our children's battles". I know that my little soldier boy, Miles, is not alone. And I know that he will continue to fight and will conquer this current battle he is in.
Come home and rest soon, little soldier boy!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Soldier Boy
Posted by Perla at 5:21 PM
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18 comments:
OH I love your little soldier boy, and he is such a soldier!! Breathing and trying to eat and being so brave when they poke him over and over to get his IV line in. His bruised hand made me sad. I am going to cry and cry when I get to hold him!!!!
he is so beautiful ... what a little miracle baby! i love his big eyes and his little sweet face.
what a sweet, sweet, perfect little boy, shan. i'm so glad you put these videos on your blog so those of us who don't get to see your baby yet can still see him. i especially loved his facials about 55 seconds in. oh, i can't wait to be able to hold the little guy. pretty amazing alertness isn't that for a preemie?
So sweet, he is a lucky boy to have you for a mom,
love the videos,
Mary
Shannon- I have spent hours reading yours and Nancy's blogs. You guys are such great writers!Congratulations on your new baby. What a sweet heart. He is so small but you can tell he is a fighter. On those videos you can tell he is one strong preemie. Good luck with everything. I will keep you in my prayers.
I can't believe how strong he seems. If it wasn't for his small size, I would never believe he was premature. What a sweetheart!
That was such a sweet post. And so neat to hear about our amazing mother always there for us. Never tired even when all her children and grandchildren need her at once. You are such a goos mom too. I am just so unbelieveably in love with MY little Miles. Such a perfect little man.
Little soldier boy is so sweet and awesome. He looks so content with his mommy there by his side. We will keep the prayers up. Love you!
He is so amazing and beautiful! Your post brought tears to my eyes, sometimes watching my children fight their battles breaks me apart. I need to worry less and pray more. I love you. Your little soldier is in those prayers, as are you. Heather
Oh, Shannon! He is SO beautiful! He looks like you. I am just crying now. Thank goodness for a God of love who cares for us and fights for us and for our precious babies. Lots of love and prayers!
He is darling! Being a NICU nurse you would think seeing these little guys would bore me at this point. Looking at a friend's little guy is WAY more fun and brings a joy to my heart that I just don't get at work. Good luck, he looks like he is well on his way home. No worries K.
T
Miles is just gorgeous. He may be small, but he's clearly chock full of some powerful energy.
I'll be thinking of you all while little Miles catches up with himself and fills out his wrinkly little skin. I hope the kids at home aren't too upset by it all - I'm sure you're extra thankful to have family around at a time like this!
Lots of love!
He is so cute. This was a great post. We are keeping you guys in our prayers.
Shan, he is so sweet and tiny and cute!! I hope you're doing alright. It's so hard leaving them there. I remember how happy I was when I got to bring my little Sadie home from the NICU. We will keep praying for him to be able to come home really, really soon.Love, Amber
Shannon, such an inspiring blog. Thanks for always sharing your wise words. Luckily this little soldier boy has such a warrior for a mother!
Oh wow, your sweet baby Miles has my heart! He is amazing! I am so proud of you and your adorable little Soldier Boy. He is amazing!
You know what? I have such found memories of meeting my little son in the hospital. He was sound asleep I held him tight. At one point his birth grandpa set him on the bed and took off his blanket to get pictures of his little hands and feet for Pete (who was at home.) All this woke him up. He was not very excited to be moved about. Once he was wrapped up Anthonie's birth grandfather offered to let me put him back in his bassinette to be wheeled off to sleep for the night. I started talking to him and telling him that it was time for bed and to sleep well. I noticed his eye, like Miles... he knew me. He was trying to focus and almost in a panic like "Mom, what are you doing here?" "You are not on my schedule until tomorrow." It was so clear to me that he knew me. I was touched and as I walked back to my seat I tried hard to hide my feelings (because it was not my time yet.) I knew as little as he was that he knew me.
It's so clear in your pictures and video that your amazing little son knows you and he really loves you! He's a fighter just like you. Thank you for sharing and reminding me to soldier-up because that is what we came here to do. Like you told me recently we all have to fight in our own ways to get our family members home. We are praying for you all and so happy that things are going so well. Miles is so amazing!
Love ya, ~Mare
Oh Shan - my heart is so full for you and your little soldier boy. I love the little tongue - and the single squinty eye look. So precious! So cute! It's amazing how you can love and feel for someone that you've never even met. Thank you, thank you for sharing and inspiring. Love and prayers to you all!
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