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I began writing this Story just a little bit ago. My whole life began a much longer long time ago in a galaxy far away called Fountain Valley. A bunch of complicated, slightly nasty stuff went on, and then, poof! an adorable (and slightly nasty) little Andrew appears.
Fast forward a few months. Simply put, my existence was challenging because I was a newborn who's life was not promised nor guaranteed. My parents wanted to keep me as safe and healthy as possible, and sometimes the measures they took were great for their own well being via my health. I, without knowing it or attempting to cause it, had stepped into a world where I had two Godly, caring parents that were worried for the health of their fourth son.
As you can probably guess, I can't tell you this from my stellar memory (I don't actually remember any of it.) I know all of this because I read from my dad's family journal when I was around 11... and it was incredibly eye opening. He poured out all of his and mom's emotions when I was an infant so that we as kids could read them in the future. It was really challenging to read because my health caused my parents so much worry and stress for lots of reasons that we don't need to go into. Suffice it to say, my parents sacrificed so much to ensure my physical health as a child.
Fast forward a few years. I remember the night fairly vividly for being four years old. I was in my bedroom, holding my old Angels Rally Monkey (my favorite stuffed animal at the time) with my special blue blankie and my siblings jumping around on the beds. It was that night that a process known as Justification was accomplished by God through Christ... But try telling that to four-year old Andrew. That night, I was saved! I was pretty excited. I remember running around church that week telling all sorts of people about it.
Anywho, I could tell you all about the sovereignty of God in my salvation and what that means and where it comes from in scripture... and that's very important, but I think it's also important that my parents haven't lived a day in the past 16 years without caring about my soul. It was displayed when they desired to share the gospel of Christ with me and it's displayed right now as I talk with my dad late at night trying to sort everything out or come to my mom with needs or questions that she willingly answers. Suffice it to say, my parents have sacrificed and do sacrifice so much to ensure my spiritual health.
Fast forward a lot of years to two weeks ago. My brother just got married. It was a splendid day, and everything went incredibly well. However, you can probably imagine how stressful it was. There were so many decisions to be made and a million billion details to be worked out. In the end, most of this stress fell upon my mother. But guess what? She did it. On that wonderful, crazy Saturday, my brother was successfully married and my parents never stopped giving everything to make it a perfect day for him and his bride.
Where did I fit into all of this wedding-ness? That's right; I was the labor crew. I got there early get the house ready. I handed out the wedding programs. I moved chairs. I helped the older people get to their seats. All of these little tasks were doled out to me one after another by my mom, and while I was happy to help... I guess I wasn't always happy to help. What kept me going was the influence of my parents; ever since I was young, they've made it very clear that we as siblings are to bear each other's burdens. To mourn when another is mourning, and to rejoice when another is rejoicing. Whether that means cleaning up the house for a sibling's birthday party or going to a far away event, that's just what a family does... and I'm so thankful that my parents have pushed and instilled that into us. Suffice it to say, my parents have sacrificed so much to ensure our family's relational health.
And, yeah. That pretty much wraps up our story today. My parents love Jesus, and that has the hugest difference in the world in every aspect of life.
So, as it's said... Mom and Dad, "I am eternally grateful."
Andrew
