A modern day hero

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By Maggie Dewitte

Ryan, Rebecca, and Hope Holets stand with Melania Trump at the State of the Union address.

For me, the highlight of the president’s State of the Union address Tuesday was Ryan Holets.

Did you hear what happened? President Trump shared the story of Mr. Holets who is a cop in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He responded to what seemed to be a routine call about a possible convenience store robbery.

When he arrived at the scene, he came upon a couple sitting behind the store about to shoot up heroin.

The woman, Crystal Champ, was 8 months pregnant.

Let that sink in.

The cop cried out,

“Why are you doing this stuff? It’s going to ruin your baby. You’re going to kill your baby.”

At this moment, the history of the world turned on a dime. Ms. Champs lashed back, engulfed by sobs:

“How dare you judge me? You have no idea how hard this is. I know what a horrible person I am. I know what a horrible situation I’m in.”

She acknowledged she needed someone to adopt her baby. And guess what, the cop had an idea of someone who would be willing to adopt her child: him.

He said he felt God talk to him. He went home, discussed it with his wife, Rebecca, and they decided to adopt the unborn child of a heroin addict.

The baby girl was born a few weeks later. They named her Hope.

How beautifully fitting.

This innocent little girl came into the world heroin-addicted through no fault of her own. She had to fight through withdrawal for ten days before they let her new parents take her home from the hospital.

She’s home, and her life is filled with hope.

She knows love.

Can this happy ending get any better? Yes. The cop set up a GoFundMe page for the birth mom to help pay for drug rehab. According to CNN, she received treatment and has been sober for 40 days. This shows that a little initiative and love goes a long way, especially in cases such as this wherein it was important for the to-be mother be medically detoxed (visit https://www.aristarecovery.com/treatment-programs/medical-detox/ to know more about it).

Will it stick? Don’t know.

Will baby Hope grow up unaffected by heroin poisoning? Don’t know.

All we know is that one little life has hope today because of brave decisions made by three people:

  1. Ryan Holets, the cop who intervened, and said YES to God’s call to adopt.
  2. Rebecca Holets, the wife who quickly said YES to God’s call to adopt.
  3. And the biggest hero of all is Crystal Champ who said YES to life, and demonstrated the most profound form of love the world has even known: agape love.

What is agape love? It is sacrificial, self-giving. It says you’re more important than I, that I’ll die for you.

Crystal Champ surely died a little the day she gave her baby to the Holets, but she KNEW in her heart that it was absolutely the right thing to do.

Moreover, adoption can be a ray of hope for people who can’t conceive a baby due to medical conditions or something else. They might explore adoption rules and consider interviewing adoption agencies to learn about legal procedures. So, individuals who chose to give up their baby for adoption deliver happiness to another family that could take care of the child and provides unconditional love to them.

Adoption is the answer.

Agape love. That’s the kind of love Jesus lived out for us … on the cross.

What’s next? Did you know that there are 36 couples standing in line to adopt every available baby placed for adoption?

These are couples that may not have wealth or status, but they have an abundance of love to offer.

We need more heroes like Crystal Champs who make the loving choice and chooses adoption, not death for their babies.

Life is beautiful. Adoption is beautiful.

If you need help trying to figure this all out, here’s a great resource: Lutheran Family Services. They’ll give you the information and support you need right now.