In 1982, a young couple lost their son Brian just 43 minutes after his birth following a traumatic delivery. Brian was buried in South Dakota where the family had military ties. But the family decided in 2019 to move the body where they could all eventually be buried together.
But during the reinterment process, the funeral directors made a stunning discovery: Baby Brian’s body was completely incorrupt. Thirty-seven years in the ground, and he looked as though he had just fallen asleep—rosy cheeks, smooth skin, intact limbs, and even fresh-looking autopsy incisions. The funeral director herself, with decades of experience, described it as unforgettable. And when pictures were later shared, there was no denying it: this was no ordinary preservation. It was a supernatural sign.
And what’s more—it wasn’t widely known. The family hadn’t sought fame or attention. They had quietly pondered the mystery for over five years before sharing the story publicly.
This week on the Being Human podcast, Brianne Edwards—author of A Thousand Pounds and founder of Locke’s Legacy—shared the story of how she encountered Baby Brian’s parents and the powerful impact it had on her. As she talked with Dr. Greg Bottaro, she unpacked three spiritual insights from this miracle that can—and should—change the way we see parenting.
Here’s what she shared:
1. Children Are Holy Before They Do Anything
Baby Brian never took a breath outside the hospital. He never spoke a word, made a mistake, or did anything to “earn” attention. Yet, God may have preserved his body for decades as a sign that he was already precious. Holy. Loved.
As parents, we often fall into the trap of measuring our kids by behavior, performance, or how much they’re like us. But if God sees a baby with no “accomplishments” as worthy of a miracle, how much more should we see our children as sacred from the start?
Parenting begins not with shaping clay, but with stewarding something already holy.
2. Parenting Needs Awe More Than Control
Brianne shared a comparison between Western parenting and Inuit parenting. In the Inuit culture, yelling at a child is seen not as discipline—but as a failure of the parent’s self-control. Why? Because children are assumed to be good and eager to learn, even when they act out.
In the West, we often assume the opposite: that children are testing us, manipulating us, or misbehaving on purpose. That assumption leads to anger, power struggles, and control.
But what if we parented from awe instead of anxiety?
- Awe that our children were entrusted to us.
- Awe that they are sacred persons, not projects.
- Awe that even their misbehavior can be a cry for love and formation.
3. Your Children Are Saints in the Making—But Also Saints Already
So often, we speak of raising our kids to become saints. And of course, that’s our goal. But stories like Brian’s invite us to see something deeper: our children already participate in holiness by their very being. Their innocence, their need, their dependence—all reflect something of the divine image.
And if we really believed that, wouldn’t it change how we parent?
- Would we slow down?
- Would we correct without crushing?
- Would we delight more than demand?
Holiness isn’t something that begins at Confirmation. It’s there from the beginning.
Parenting Is Holy Ground
Parenting is messy, exhausting, sometimes heart-wrenching work. But it’s also holy. We are raising children who belong to God—children who may teach us more about heaven than we teach them about earth.
So the next time your toddler melts down, or your teenager pushes back, remember this:
God preserved a tiny baby’s body for 37 years to remind us that every person matters eternally. Not because of what they do—but because of who they are.
Let’s parent from that place of awe.