NORTON SHORES, Mich. — It's early summer in Michigan, meaning garage sale signs may as well be the new state flower.
McCracken Street in Muskegon is no exception.
Amanda and Nathan Hanis are hosting one — but their sale is more than just spring cleaning.
"As one, we can do little, but as a community, we can build an army," Amanda said.
Amanda was scrolling through Facebook when she saw a post from a friend of 20 years.
“It said 'God please, No, Lord, I'm not ready to die,'" she said.
“Becca is a very kind person," Amanda said. “I was going through some bad things in my life. And she just kind of jumped in and she was there for me.”
Becca was diagnosed with stage four cervical cancer.
“She was broken," she said.
Amanda went into combat mode.
“We spent the whole evening from like 6 p.m. until like, probably 1 a.m., preparing the garage sale. “
By the next day, it was a full-fledged sale with all the proceeds for Becca.
“She's scared for life. She's scared for her kids... and just the outcome of what's gonna the financial burden that's going to come upon her and her family. If she doesn't make it through this.”
The battle for Becca has brought a feeling of gratitude, for all involved.
“When she's in pain, she's still messaging me and saying, Hey, thank you so much for being here," said Amanda. “We don't need gratitude. We're doing it because we care.”
Until one morning — the joy stopped.
While the Hanis family was asleep, someone stole from the sale.
“You're not stealing from me, you're stealing from somebody with cancer, Amanda said. “What kind of person does that make you? It doesn't change who I am, but it changes who you are."
The thieves wouldn’t win this war.
Instead, neighbors donated enough items for the sale to continue into a second week.
“Just seeing the community come together and just, they're all coming here to help somebody a complete stranger — they don't know her.”
"I feel just so blessed,” Amanda said through tears.
At the back of the sale is a prayer book, full of well-wishes Amanda is collecting to give to her.
“When she's feeling down, she can just kind of read over them and see. Like it's not just me, somebody you know, it's a whole community of people.”
It's a symbol of the soldiers standing beside her, who won’t let her fight alone.
“She needs an army behind her — anybody who's going through this does. This is hard."
They hope anyone passing by those garage sale signs on McCracken remembers the power of calling in your troops.
You can find Becca's GoFundMe here. With proceeds from the sale and the GoFundMe, they've raised around $2,000.
While Amanda hopes to help Becca with all of the medical bills and prescription costs, she dreams of checking off her bucket list items, including a road trip, getting married, going bungee jumping, flying in a plane and going to Cedar Point.
“It’s time to get out of Michigan and experience some things and live life to the fullest," she said.
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