Courageous Love: Andrea Jones

One afternoon about four years ago my friend Andrea listened to a story told by a student at Johns Hopkins University. Andrea works in donor relations and had set up an event for student scholars to share with donors the impact the scholarships had for them. The story Andrea heard was told by a young Chinese-American woman about the research she had done in China about the treatment of young girls in that country. She opened her talk with a story about a man who set out one night with a bundle under his arm. When he reached a bridge he tossed the bundle into the river below. Inside that bundle was the student’s little baby cousin.

This story of courageous love is about Andrea and the decision she made that afternoon: to adopt a child who otherwise would not have a chance for a good life–or maybe any life at all.

Two years ago, after a lengthy adoption process, Andrea flew to Ethiopia in late May and returned to the States a week later. The day she returned was incredible and whenever I think about it, my heart is overwhelmed with emotion. As I stood there in the Dulles airport I watched as my best friend walked slowly toward me carrying the sleepy (and scared) bundle that was my new goddaughter, Lydia. It was as if the world melted away and all I could see before me was a woman who had the courage to take matters into her own hands and make the world a better place for one little girl.

This story is not just about someone who selflessly chose to share her time and her resources with another. It is a story of someone who had enough love in her that she could be courageous.