From YA Weekly
With Our Babies in the NICU, We Turned to Christ for Peace
The author lives in Idaho, USA.
The scariest chapter of our lives taught us the quiet power of peace through Jesus Christ.
Photograph courtesy of the author
The best Christmas gift my wife, Heidi, and I have ever received was bringing our twin boys home from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
Heidi and I met while we were students at university, and not long after getting married in the Rexburg Idaho Temple, we found out we were expecting twins. We were so excited—but a few months into the pregnancy, things took an unexpected turn. Our boys were born at just 27 weeks, each weighing around two pounds. They were rushed straight into the NICU, where they’d spend the next four months fighting for their lives.
Trusting Through Tears
Those early days were some of the hardest we’ve ever faced. We got call after call from doctors—each one delivering news of more complications or more surgeries. It was overwhelming. There were many sleepless nights filled with prayers, tears, and deep uncertainty.
In the middle of all that chaos, we made the conscious decision to trust Heavenly Father. It wasn’t easy. We didn’t know what the future held, but we leaned on the faith we’d built throughout our lives. One scripture that brought us a lot of strength was Helaman 5:12, which says to build your foundation on “the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ.”
That verse helped remind us that we weren’t alone. Jesus Christ had already walked the path of pain and uncertainty. He understood exactly what we were feeling. As we kept Him at the center of our lives, we started to notice quiet reminders that God was with us.
Holding on to Hope
Going to the temple and sitting in the celestial room gave us moments of peace we desperately needed. We didn’t know how things would turn out, but we felt comforted. It didn’t mean everything would turn out the way we hoped, but it meant we weren’t carrying it all by ourselves.
One verse that really stuck with me during this time was Doctrine and Covenants 121:7: “Peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment.” That verse helped shift my perspective. Our trials felt huge at the time, but in the eternal picture, they were just a small moment.
Focusing on Jesus Christ helped us see past the immediate pain and start noticing the blessings—our boys slowly getting stronger, fewer stressful phone calls from doctors, and the outpouring of love and prayers from family and friends.
Keeping an Eternal Perspective
At last, on Christmas day, our boys finally got to come home with us. Looking back now, I’m just so grateful. Our boys are thriving, and while I wouldn’t wish those months on anyone, I wouldn’t trade the lessons we learned. We came to understand what it means to trust God and hold on to hope in Jesus Christ.
Not everyone’s story ends the same way. But even when the outcome is different, Jesus Christ offers the peace, comfort, and strength to make it through. If you’re in the middle of something hard right now, please remember this life isn’t the end. Heavenly Father loves you. He has a plan for you. And with His help, even the hardest moments can become part of something beautiful.
Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles once said, “When we trust God and His love for us, even our greatest heartbreaks can, in the end, work together for our good.” I’ve seen that truth in my own life.
So, when life gets heavy, when the path ahead feels uncertain—turn to Christ. Let Him help carry your burdens. With Him, we can keep going. With Him, we can find hope. And with an eternal perspective, we can trust that whatever we’re going through now is not the end of the story.