Letters to Andrew: I'm Sorry

Dear Andrew,

     Hey Little Man, daddy is so sorry you are having to go through all of this again. I am so sorry that your childhood has been consumed with battling Leukemia. I know you are scared and I also know that you are sick of it. In my mind I have been writing you letters for four years now.  You were so young when you were diagnosed with Leukemia that it was very hard for you understand so many of the things that were happening. It was hard for everyone. Well, the time has come for me to write those letters to you. I am going to write them as if we were still back there in the summer of 2014. I don't want us to lose the memory of the journey we have travelled together as a family.
    I want to start today though by telling you how proud I am of you.  I cannot even imagine how much worse this experience could have been for your momma and me if you're attitude had not been so full of grace, mercy, and courage. I watch you face this is world and your challenges and I am so thankful that you truly are almost everything I am not and was not as a child. You are so gentle and compassionate. You are so caring toward others and especially your family. Of course, you are not perfect for you carry the treasure of Christ in the jar of clay that is your sinful flesh. Yet, the fruit of Christ's Spirit is so graciously in abundance in you that it is overwhelming. We praise God for His grace because we know that this is not a work of your own effort. It is the work of God in you by His grace. Your mom and I are amazed at how courageously you face every challenge. When you have every reason to be afraid and angry you buck up and grind on. You have been that way from the beginning. The part that amazes us the most is that you were never told to be that way. You took this challenge up on your own. It is the work of God's grace.
    The challenge you are facing now with a Bone Marrow Transplant after T-Cell relapse is of course much harder than even what you've already been through. I know you have grasped this because you ain't no rookie and this isn't your first rodeo. We will be with you through every moment of the fight. However, there will be moments when it will be only you and the Lord. I pray that you already understand but I especially pray that you will come to understand through this trial that His presence is the most needed. His power is made perfect in our weakness. He doesn't call upon you to win or be a warrior but to be courageous because He is your warrior. We wish we could just handle it all for you. The truth is that it is better for you that we can't handle it for you. At the end of the day this is your battle and in God's wisdom and grace He has design your life to walk this path. Thus, we know that it is a path the God will walk through with you. Therefore, you remember that He has said that, "He will be with you. That He is your God. That He will strengthen you and help you. That He will uphold you by His righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10)  God isn't making lemonade out of a bad situation that has come upon you. No, God has ordered everyday for you as it is for your good and His Glory. So, trust in Him and His steadfast love for His promises are sure and power unmatched. He is the first and best of beings who made you and all things for his glory. So trust Him. Pray for Him to grant you a greater trust when your trust is weak and when your heart is weary. Now, you march on and glorify Him by loving Him and doing what He commands to the praise and glory of His name.
    I love you. Your Momma loves you. Your sisters love you. Your family loves you. Christ's church loves you. Leake Academy loves you. Your 3C nurses and Drs love you. And countless and nameless others love you. So, you fight! You Fight! You are never alone. We will be with you at every step that we can and Christ will be with you always.

In Christ,
Daddy