Finding the Lemonade

A couple months ago, I posted about the abundance of lemons we had falling on us. And that I was trying to see the lemonade in all of it. Trying to make good out of bad. Well, there are certainly glimmers of lemonade - literally and figuratively - surrounding us.

The past few days, several of our friends' children held lemonade stands with proceeds benefiting Grace's March of Dimes "bandingtogether" fund. It all started with our dear friend Elizabeth's daughter Leksi (7 years old). She was seeking a way to give back in honor of the little friend she will never get to meet in person (some day in heaven they will run freely together). She wanted to help. So, her mom and other family helped her organize a lemonade stand this weekend. This family has been so wonderful to us with all that we've been through. Friends through the good and the bad - and shining with grace through the bad.

And then the "movement" caught on with other children holding their own lemonade stands for Grace. A friend of mine from high school, who I had not kept in close contact with over the years, has an amazing story that has touched and helped me the past months. Ten years ago (eleven later this year), Krista's sister Gina lost her daughter Grace in a similar way to our Grace's loss. Gina's Grace had a deletion of a chromosome that led to just a very short life here on Earth. Gina had an emotionally and physically difficult pregnancy with Grace, but has honored her life so beautifully. In fact, her story with Grace was featured in last year's Artprize here in Grand Rapids.

Both Krista and Gina have been wonderful supporters to me the past several months. In my last post, I mentioned how we've found support in unexpected ways. In people who we wouldn't expect. Again, I had not kept in close contact with Krista. But here she was, along with Gina, sending several cards and emails of support. Following our blog. Sharing their story with me. Letting me know that I wasn't alone in my emotional journey. So many parallels can be drawn between their story and ours - a journey to respect the lives that God has given us and travel down a road that neither of us expected to be asked to travel.

So, Krista's three adorable girls decided they wanted to join the lemonade revolution to honor their cousin Grace and our little Grace. On Thursday, they set up a stand and sold $111.58 worth of lemonade. Here they are in their cute little stand [Emerson and Kelly on the left, Reese on the right (and one of Krista's daycare girlies in the middle)] ...


Saturday was Leksi's lemonade stand. It was a hot and humid day, but through it, Leksi raised $227.78. And the donations are still coming - so that's not even a final tally. Here she is in her cute little stand...


And then, the third stand. My childhood friend Linnaea's children also felt compelled to help. They held a stand on Saturday for a bit and will be repeating it in a couple of weeks. More to come on their generous efforts!

Krista's girls also had a very special gift for Gavin. When Gina's Grace was born and passed away, Krista was 38+ weeks pregnant with her first child Emerson. Gina gave Emerson, who then shared with her younger sisters over the years, a very special remembrance of their cousin Grace. The girls have cherished their little Grace bunny over the past ten years (it really is the "Grace" bunny - from Beanie Babies). The bunny has brought them great comfort in their loss. But they wanted to pass it along to another little one who was in need of comfort. So, they selflessly passed their bunny on to the next generation, to Gavin. Look how cute - a little praying Grace bunny! Gavin loves it! In fact, he learned how to do "prayer hands" earlier this year, so when he saw the bunny, he knew exactly what she was doing!

Wow! Such selfless acts from some of God's most precious creations. These children gave of their time and their profits to benefit a little girl whom they never met. They easily could have saved their lemonade stand proceeds and bought something for themselves. Instead, each and every one of them decided that they would give back. And collectively, they will become the largest donor to Grace's memorial fund. Who'd have thought a grassroots effort, thought up by one child and carried out by several, would turn into such a testament of giving. I'd say I'm speechless, but clearly I'm not, given the length of this post. I'm honored. I'm teary-eyed. I'm moved. I'm proud.

Thank you to these kiddos and to all who visited their stands and enjoyed a glass of lemonade. It was refreshing - very refreshing!