The 5-year-old son of a prominent Catholic social media influencer passed away on New Year’s Eve after a lengthy battle with the flu, announced by the father in an emotional video in front of his 300,000 Instagram followers. Paul Kim, who has long posted content about his faith, sadly punctuated 2025 with horrific news no parent ever wants to confront.
For context, Kim’s content delved into deep personal matters in the final two weeks of December as his son, Micah, had contracted a virulent and particular vicious strain of the flu. He was hospitalizexd
Quoting a pertinent Bible passage, in this case Job 1:21, Kim captioned his heart-wrending video by noting that Heavenly Father both giveth and taketh. “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord,” the post began.
Continuing, Kim provided a synopsis of their family’s tragic journey. “Micah Joseph is beginning the new year basking in the never ending glory, love, and peace of God,” he wrote. “Micah has been very busy already, as I see the Lord using him and sending him on missions to bring millions of people closer to God.
“We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses (Heb 12:1) that my son is now a part of. I couldn’t be a prouder father. This reality gives me great joy and hope in the midst of sorrow. Our hearts are broken; but we trust in the Lord. Please pray for my family and me as we learn how to live by faith and not by sight,” he continued.
And much as he does in the video, Kim expressed his sincere gratitude for not having had to take this journey alone. In sharing the content and gaining a following, he had countless people reach out extending their condolences and offering their prayers.
“Thank you for all the love, prayers, and compassion that a countless number of you have showed us. May God truly bless you. Your prayers for Micah were answered, but in a different way than what we had all hoped for. God healed and welcomed him into eternal life. He is where we all want to be,” he finished.
During the video, among sharing his thanks and acknowledging the pain he felt, there was also a sense of comfort knowing his son was with Jesus, which is everyone’s ultimate and desired ending. He offered a prayer to God, thanking him for the time he had with his son.
“Heavenly Father, we thank you for the great gift and blessing of my son, Micah, who spent five years here on Earth, but now spends eternity with You in heaven. He is an amazing boy, and truly, he belongs more in heaven than he does on Earth,” he prayed.
“But we’re sad. We’re sad to let him go. It’s weird as humans to not have him around, but we know by faith, he is alive, more alive than he’s ever been. So we ask in a special way for his intercession. Micah, my little son, we’ve already spoken to you and asked for your prayers. But Micah, you know all those people who. Have been thinking about you and concerned about you. I want you to go and pray for them too. Okay? I want you to thank them personally, okay, by praying for them hard before God’s throne,” he went on.
“Micah, your name means who is like God. Go show the world. Who is like God. There’s no one like God. There’s no one like God. You are worthy God, you are worthy to be praised. You give and you take away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. We know we will hug our boy again, but in the meantime, give us faith so we can see our son every day with faith, because he’s already been talking to us. Oh God, Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be world without end. Amen.”