After my wife's women's group tonight, Raisa stayed behind to talk to us. She said she wasn't really sure how to broach the subject, but God was putting it on her heart to talk to us. She had been avoiding bringing it up, because she wasn't sure how she felt about it, but it was obvious that God wanted her to share it. She then proceeded to tell us that her youngest daughter, Gabby, had heard about our struggles to have a baby, and she wanted to offer to be a surrogate for us.
We were stunned. We stood there in silence just looking at Raisa. I mean, what do you say to that? It was the last thing we expected her to tell us. I mean, who does that? Who offers their body to be used to bring someone else's baby into the world? Who puts themselves through that for nine months for someone else? It gives John 15:13 a whole new meaning, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
Raisa told us that Gabby had been doing research on the subject for months. She'd prayed about it. She'd talked to her fiance about it. In the end, she said that every person deserved a chance to know the joy of being a parent. And if she could help us know that, then she would gladly offer without hesitation.
Even as I'm typing this, I still don't truly know what to make of it. I still can't fathom doing that for someone else. And it doesn't even matter if we take her up on her offer or not, it's just the fact that she offered that is remarkable. What a truly wondrous gift. What a truly wondrous display of love.
