Supporting Crazy Love

My heart is completely overwhelmed today.

A couple of posts back, I told you about my friend Melanie and recommended her book. And on my sidebar you'll find a picture of a sweet little girl with glasses and a big smile: her daughter, Hope.

Now I have something to share but I struggle with how to start this... how far to go back with this story... If you're willing to bear with me, I'll start at the beginning. This is a long story but an incredible one that cries out of God's creativity, humor, compassion and love for His kids. Warning- don't proceed unless you have some time, something to drink... and maybe some tissues.

Not long after Abby was born, I asked her service coordinator if they could give me the name and phone numbers of some other families in our area that had little ones with Down syndrome. I really wanted to get to know some other families walking this same road that was so new to me. They gave me two names. One of them is a story for another day. The other: Hope Hollis. These two names and phone numbers stayed on my fridge for months. I don't know if it was the newness of having three kids or the denial of Abby's diagnosis that warred within me, but I never did call either of these families. After about a year of looking at them on my fridge, I threw the paper away.

Fast forward to mid-adoption process for Micah (and Oleg at the time). A friend from church, Jackie, came up to me and said that there was a family I had to meet. Their daughter started at the school where Jackie works and somehow they made the connection that Jackie knew me and were thrilled because they'd been praying for Pavel and Oleg on RR! Random! They'd been praying for the boys and when they found out the family adopting them lived close they tried to get contact information but couldn't. SO, they were so excited to find that Jackie knew us! But then came the kicker for ME, "Their little girl's name is Hope Hollis." Crazy.

So Melanie and I finally met at church. And she's one of those people I feel like I've known forever. We haven't been able to talk often, but when we do, its like getting together with an old friend.

Which brings us to a couple of weeks ago. Mel and her amazing kids do regular devotions in their home. And recently they've been talking about "Crazy Love" the book by Francis Chan. And talking about doing things that are crazy out of their love for Christ. So their 11 year old daughter, Lydia, decided to raise some money for kids on RR. I believe the goal was $2000 before Christmas. And they chose a couple of little girls for the money to go to specifically, Nadine and Darya.

And that's where REAL crazy love began... God has put something in Lydias heart and she now has a deal with Melanie that if she raises the $20,000 herself that they will ADOPT Darya! AND she wants to raise it all BY Thanksgiving!

So why am I sharing all of this with you? Why does this affect me to the point of tears every time I think about it? Because I've met Darya. I rocked her little bouncy seat, talked to her, and got her to smile. And ever since that day, that little face has been stuck in my head and my heart has longed for that precious girl to have a forever family.

Lydia has said that if 200 people would be willing to give $100, she would have all of the money she needs to bring home a new baby sister. To the world it's foolishness that an 11 year old could raise $20,000... but isn't it just like God to do something like that?

I'm adding a ChipIn button on the side of my blog for the Hollis family. Will you let God use you to be a part of this Thanksgiving miracle? Will you support crazy love?

To follow the Hollis family (and really get a bigger picture of the story than I was able to portray here) you can go to their blog here.