A Letter from Andrew’s Parents

Dear friends and family,

There are no words to adequately express the emotions we have experienced over the past six months. There have been moments of joyful praise mixed with times of great sadness and disappointment. We knew from the beginning we were not equipped to handle such a journey and that our strength would have to come from God alone. However, we did not anticipate all of the ways God would work in our lives.

We have focused and held on to the promises of God’s Word through verses like 2 Corinthians 12:8 where Paul pleads with the Lord to remove his pain and God assures him that “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” And Jeremiah 29:11 where the Lord tells us “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” We have great faith and trust that God has something so much bigger in store for our family and that Andrew’s life will be used in ways we could have never imagined to bring glory to God’s kingdom.

Through this journey God has placed in our path a massive amount of loving, caring, kind people who have constantly lifted us and Andrew up in prayer. We have watched as the life of our little 1-pound baby boy has been used to draw so many people closer to God. His time on Earth was so brief and yet it was used to impact so many. In John 1:40-42 Andrew is one of the first to hear and believe that Jesus was the Messiah. He then goes to find his brother Simon, tells him who Jesus is and leads Simon to meet him. It brings us unspeakable joy to see that our little Andrew was able to follow in his namesake’s footsteps by bringing others to Jesus, and our hope is that those who hear his story in the future will find salvation through Jesus as well.

Attached to your program is a packet of Forget Me Not seeds to plant in remembrance of Andrew and his journey. This particular flower is a petite wildflower that spreads easily and quickly for continued growth. Our hope is that the flower will serve as a reminder to each of us that the power of prayer and love for one another can spread like wildflowers and give people hope and strength that they may not have recognized before. It certainly did for us!

Several months ago, after we had received the news that Andrew was facing a difficult road due to medical complications, we were invited to attend a theater production at Midlothian High School. The production turned out to be Ville Du Harve, the story of Horatio Spafford who experienced unfathomable tragedy and yet was inspired to pen the great hymn “It Is Well with My Soul”. While it was painful to watch at the time, it served as a reminder to us that while our faith would be tested during this time we could still trust that our God was in control. So while we struggle today to adequately express our sorrow and grief, we want to close this celebration of Andrew’s life by reminding everyone joining us today, as we have been reminded throughout this, that it is only through our great Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ that we can find the peace and comfort that allows us to say “it is well with our souls”.

With love for each of you and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
Peter and Meredith Chase

 

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