For Andrew

My dear friends in Christ, you no longer see your beloved Andrew since last year. And yet in celebrating his birthday today,  you allow us to see who Andrew is for you. You made us see what you see in him. We see how you his family loves him. We see that though Andrew is out of your sight, he is never out of your mind. He is still in your memories, and from your memories, he has been making his way into the depths of your hearts, and from your hearts, he enters, ever so quietly and gently, into your every day life. At this point, it reminds me of the first letter of Peter1:8 which states: You have not seen him, but you love him. You do not see him now but you believe in him, and so you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy. This bible passage reminds us of the power of love. It is love that makes you see Andrew whom the world couldn't see. It is love that makes you believe that he is in your midst though the world could not feel his presence. It is love that makes you hope to see him again and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy. It is love that keeps you waiting for him. I remember last year, during the first few weeks when Andrew was missing, the family hoped to see him coming home. In fact, the family has never been tired of waiting for him. As days went by, the family never realized that it takes too long to wait just as the proverbs say, A WATCHED POT NEVER BOILS. It seems it takes forever to wait for Andrew. The time seems to be too fast for this world yet in searching and finding Andrew everything seems so slow. Though waiting itself might give anybody an uncomfortable feeling, the family has never bothered the discomfort while waiting for Andrew because their love for Andrew is beyond contestation.It is love that keeps you waiting for him. Today, one year has already passed and still the family hopes to see Andrew again. They are not tired of waiting. They are not tired of loving him. Some people would say it is useless to wait for Andrew. Others also say it is now time to make a closure in the family and accept that Andrew is gone. Well, they may be right. But who can stop the power of love? Though the intellect takes the matter of waiting for Andrew as impossible, it is love that makes Andrew worth waiting for.  If one has to understand why the family keeps hoping to see Andrew, he must know how to love first. Jesus once said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and revealed them to the childlike. -Matthew 11:25 As of now, we do not know where Andrew is and how is he. The only truth we have about him is that we have not seen him. And by not seeing him, we can only speculate and give our presumptions. Yet let us be comforted by the Scripture which we have taken from the first letter of Peter1: 8. You will rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy. It means you will see Andrew again and be filled with joy. This will all take place in God's way and in God's time. Watch out! Stay alert! For you do not know when the time will come. -Mark 13:33. Amen.