A Mother's Nightmare
by Robin Miller

My name is Robin Miller. I have a wonderful husband and two fine boys. I have been married for 23 years and love my husband more with every passing hour. We had such a great life going.

This story started three years ago when my sons were 15 and 17 years of age. Everything seemed to be going perfectly. The boys were good kids. They were involved with scouting and were both working on their Eagle projects. They wanted to be the first brothers to make Eagle Scout at the same time. Jeremy, my older son, is 20 years old now. He was in ROTC Saber Team Captain and was working every night so he could buy his first car.

Jonathan, my younger son, had just completed his lifeguard class and was working at the YMCA on weekends. He also swam for the high school swim team. Jon had been swimming competitively since the age of seven. He was a very smart, determined boy. He definitely was a boy of his own opinions and was always boycotting something or other. I was sure that he was going to be something great.

Well, one day on the school bus coming home, the neighbor boy challenged Jon to a fight. He said that he was going to kick his **** when he got off the bus. (It’s so strange that Jon was even on the bus that night. He always rode to school with his brother but Jer had to go to school early that day.) When Jon got off the bus, he punched the boy. This is where the nightmare came in. The boy, after receiving one punch, tragically dropped to the ground and died. You see, a microscopic tear in the artery leaked blood and flooded the boy’s brain and he died instantly. My son was tried as an adult and sentenced to life in prison for felony murder. I can’t even describe the pain I felt.

I locked myself in my room for three weeks. I would not get out of bed… would not eat… would not talk to anyone. Media people were all around our house. They would not leave us alone and told terrible lies about my son in the paper and on TV. I just sat in my room thinking, “Why God? Why would you do this to us and to our neighbors, who lost their son? How could this happen?” I could not imagine the pain of the boy’s parents and his family. And, I had such fear about my baby behind prison bars!

My son Jeremy was totally lost without his brother. Jer was so quiet and just could not even speak of the situation. Jer still struggles with it. He’s also strong and has been there for his brother and us through it all. Then, one night, I heard some people come to visit.

During this time, we had many, many visitors. But, this night was different. I had an overwhelming feeling to get out of the bed and go see who it was. Down the stairs, I go in my nightgown and there was a dear friend from scouts who was also a member of our church. That night was the first time I came out of the bedroom in weeks.

I visited with Roxie and the following day she led me to the most spirit-filled woman I have ever met. Her name is Diane and she lived only a few houses from us. I had never met her before. She was able to get into the prison to see my son. What a huge help she was to him. Jon was on a suicide watch and it was such a blessing that Diane could see him. She is now his spiritual advisor.

Praise God, Jon is strong in the Lord. He has helped so many children behind bars to seek God’s love. He is a blessing in there. I believe that Jon is a soldier for God behind enemy lines. Through this whole nightmare, God is preparing my son for something really special. This is Jon’s training period. All I can say is, “Thank You, Father for sending me all the wonderful angels that you have sent. And, thank you for being right there with us, all through this. You are the rock on which we will stand, and the power of the enemy is not going to knock us off. He might throw some big potholes in our path, but with Your help, I can jump really far!!!”

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