Can You Love Someone You've Never Met?

Can you love someone you've never met? Love them so much that it feels like your heart's about to burst out of your chest and fly halfway across the world to them?

I think so.

I've been told by some that my attachment to children I meet could be seen as a bad thing. I wish I could say they were wrong. There are so many children that I love. Carmensita. Hectór. Cesár. Levi. Jace. Evan. Some I've met, some I've never laid eyes on.

Some people say it's ridiculous. It's absolutely impossible for me to love this little boy as much as I do already. Isaac is four years old. He lives at Maria's Big House of Hope, and he has spina bifida. There is not much prospect for him in China, but there is the hope of a forever family in America. Maria's Big House of Hope can only hold him for one more year. Then he goes back into the state-run orphanage. He will not be cared for like his at MBHOH.

I love Isaac. I love him with all of my heart. It gives me great pain to think that he might not get adopted. It keeps me up at night. I shed tears for him. I don't know why.

See, I think loving someone is all about the connection. Hectór made such an impression on me because he reminded me of Levi. I thought, What if this was Levi? I think it's the same with Isaac.

I didn't want to go to Maria's Big House at first. I didn't want to go to China. I didn't feel called there. Until I saw this video of Isaac. I made a connection. His laugh sounded so much like Jace's when he was little. I thought, What if that was Jace?

So, yes. I think it's very possible to love someone you've never met. Love them so much it hurts.

Think about Jesus. I wonder if it pains Him that He can't meet us face to face right now. Does he wish with all his heart that he could just hold us in His arms and give us a hug? Does His heart feel like it's going to explode He loves us so much?

If it's anything like the way mine is for Isaac, I bet it does.