Thank you for being here today. It is a blessing to Steve
and I to receive so much love and encouragement from all of you.
I’d like to share how Andrew impacted my life in the short 10 days
he was here. During the past 9 months God blessed us with a healthy and smooth pregnancy.
When we found out Andrew had swelling to the brain and was having seizures, the
first thought that came to mind was Why? Had we taken a wrong turn somewhere?
How could a loving God allow this suffering to happen?
I desperately dove into the bible looking for some answers.And I never found a single promise from God to shields us from pain and suffering. As I read through the bible those chosen by the Lord were asked to face great trials and dark storms. But they also had the honor and joy of experiencing something greater at the end of their stories:
Mary endured the pain of watching her son Jesus be
crucified and killed. But at the end she also had the great joy of watching him come back
to life three days later when all hope was gone.
David endured trials and persecution for many years before his time to
reign as King of Jerusalem. But once he reigned Jerusalem would have the greatest period of peace they ever experienced.
Job endured the pain of losing all his children on one day and his
wealth gone. But in the end of the story, God blessed him with more children, and his wealth was restored tenfold in God's time.
Most importantly, even God himself freely gave his only son to be
crucified and mocked, to save the souls of men and women who didn’t deserve it.
These stories remind me that dark storms are only temporary.
That God does not promise to shield us from them. He
himself endured many dark storms. He promises to be there with us to help us
through it and that they too will pass, and there will be joy again in the
morning.
I remember one night while Andrew was in the NICU, sitting with sister Elizabeth in our porch praying on our knees for Andrew's healing. My sister looked at me and with all the confidence in the world she said 'It is an honor that God is using Andrew for his plan and purpose. There are people who live all their lives without ever finding the purpose God had for them'. And that brought me comfort. She also told me there were a lot of good things happening around us but because we were so focused on Andrew at the time, we had not yet had a chance to see them. I clung onto these words as they brought me so much encouragement.
There are two main things God has taught me during these last few weeks. The first is to be less judgmental of other people. No matter what walk of life they are from, what they look like, or where they are going... if they have breath and life then God is choosing to give them life because he loves them and has a plan for them.
God also showed me how his love is unconditional. The day before Andrew passed away, I kept thinking about the future and the very high possibility that Andrew would be a special needs child. I wondered if I would love him just as much. And that's when it sank in to my heart- that God's love is unconditional for us. We are so far from being perfect and yet he still loves us, and has all the patience in the world with us. I knew at that very moment that I would love Andrew no matter what deficiencies he would have. I begged God that night to allow us to bring him home with us, no matter what the future would be- we just wanted the chance to love on our son.
God called Andrew to heaven on a Thursday night, exactly 10 days almost to the hour from when he was born. When we received the phone call from the hospital that his heart was failing I felt an incredible peace come over me. The horrible anxiety and desperation I had experienced every second Andrew had been in the NICU was gone. I knew Andrew's life was now in God's hands.
I still have questions and we are hurting over the loss of our precious child, but I can cling to God's comfort. And His promise that he loved Andrew much more than Steve and I did.
Today as I reflect on Andrew's life on what would've been his 7th Birthday. I am thankful for all the joy God has brought back into our lives. He has healed and restored so much, and He has been faithful to His promises. Not because of anything Steve and I did, or any faith we seemed to have- we have certainly struggled, wrestled, and doubted... and continue to this day. But simply because He is a good and merciful God. He is true to his promises, and He is trustworthy even through the most unthinkable of circumstances. Today I want to give him all the honor, glory, and praise for the story he is writing out in our family.
A brief summary for those of you who don't know Andrew's story- He was our son born after a healthy and smooth pregnancy. He was born seemingly healthy at a whopping 8 lbs, 4 oz and a 9 APGAR score. On our third day at the hospital, as we were getting ready to go home he was taken to the NICU where the doctors found half of his brain was not working due to an injury to the brain. They did not determine when it happened and we have never really known for sure. He remained in the NICU for the next seven days and then unexpectedly passed away when his heart failed at 10 days old.
I remember one night while Andrew was in the NICU, sitting with sister Elizabeth in our porch praying on our knees for Andrew's healing. My sister looked at me and with all the confidence in the world she said 'It is an honor that God is using Andrew for his plan and purpose. There are people who live all their lives without ever finding the purpose God had for them'. And that brought me comfort. She also told me there were a lot of good things happening around us but because we were so focused on Andrew at the time, we had not yet had a chance to see them. I clung onto these words as they brought me so much encouragement.
There are two main things God has taught me during these last few weeks. The first is to be less judgmental of other people. No matter what walk of life they are from, what they look like, or where they are going... if they have breath and life then God is choosing to give them life because he loves them and has a plan for them.
God also showed me how his love is unconditional. The day before Andrew passed away, I kept thinking about the future and the very high possibility that Andrew would be a special needs child. I wondered if I would love him just as much. And that's when it sank in to my heart- that God's love is unconditional for us. We are so far from being perfect and yet he still loves us, and has all the patience in the world with us. I knew at that very moment that I would love Andrew no matter what deficiencies he would have. I begged God that night to allow us to bring him home with us, no matter what the future would be- we just wanted the chance to love on our son.
God called Andrew to heaven on a Thursday night, exactly 10 days almost to the hour from when he was born. When we received the phone call from the hospital that his heart was failing I felt an incredible peace come over me. The horrible anxiety and desperation I had experienced every second Andrew had been in the NICU was gone. I knew Andrew's life was now in God's hands.
I still have questions and we are hurting over the loss of our precious child, but I can cling to God's comfort. And His promise that he loved Andrew much more than Steve and I did.
Today as I reflect on Andrew's life on what would've been his 7th Birthday. I am thankful for all the joy God has brought back into our lives. He has healed and restored so much, and He has been faithful to His promises. Not because of anything Steve and I did, or any faith we seemed to have- we have certainly struggled, wrestled, and doubted... and continue to this day. But simply because He is a good and merciful God. He is true to his promises, and He is trustworthy even through the most unthinkable of circumstances. Today I want to give him all the honor, glory, and praise for the story he is writing out in our family.
A brief summary for those of you who don't know Andrew's story- He was our son born after a healthy and smooth pregnancy. He was born seemingly healthy at a whopping 8 lbs, 4 oz and a 9 APGAR score. On our third day at the hospital, as we were getting ready to go home he was taken to the NICU where the doctors found half of his brain was not working due to an injury to the brain. They did not determine when it happened and we have never really known for sure. He remained in the NICU for the next seven days and then unexpectedly passed away when his heart failed at 10 days old.
