February 10, 2009. Andy’s birthday. He would have been 14. The dawn of his manhood. And in the months that he endured the battle of cancer, I watched him grow into the man God created him to be. We prayed every day for the healing of his body, mind, and spirit. The thing is, the whole time his spirit was always healed. It was as if his spirit was never wounded. In these months since he’s been gone, I have had waves of memories---of all of our intense times together. The horrible physical things he experienced, the incredible patience he simply displayed, the joy and laughter he amazingly showed in spite of all the hard stuff, the beautiful love and kindness he shared til the very end. In my grief, the times when I have asked God why He didn’t heal him, I seem to get this response in my mind and heart that says “I did”. And God continues to heal us. Andy was an incredible gift of God here. Now he is a saint enjoying the celebration of his birth in Heaven. He continues to be our special Helper through very challenging times. I am so glad he has no more pain or sadness or fear or worry---only Love…and lots of chocolate!!

We miss him. We love him.

Eileen