We all have seeds of dreams lying hopeful and patient in the soil of our hearts. Some seeds we knowingly anticipate, and other seeds are mysterious-- dormant and unknown, but nonetheless hopeful and patient. When conditions are right, something begins to happen, and the seed begins to grow.
One such seed has been sown in the garden of my spirit for The Heart House-- a home where the whimsically lavish, playfully extravagant love of the Lord is demonstrated to children and their families. The Heart House is a safe place where children can come after school for healthy snacks, help with homework, hugs and smiles.
It's a place where everyone learns and everyone teaches, everyone studies and everyone preaches. Cooking lessons, laundry procedures, making messes, laughing while cleaning, budgets and mad money, gardening and crafting, games and sports, goldfish feeding.... A place to learn the joy of living a life of love.
Everyone at The Heart House is family-- volunteers, children, moms, dads, uncles and aunties, granddads, and grannies. Hearts have been knit together through the everydayness of sharing time, love, laughter, and knowledge. It's a place for exchanging life skills and training, support, love, and prayer-- equipping each generation for their purpose.
There are children upstairs learning how to build blanket forts, make beds, and fluff pillows. Others are learning how to make the mirrors, toilets, and floors sparkle. Granddad is teaching children how to change oil and flat tires. Sister is outside too, helping children plant seeds. Grannie tastes the sauce her girls are stirring with wooden spoons. Geometry and spelling swirl around the kitchen table before dinner. The whole house is abuzz, and yet, there's an underlying peace, quiet and still.
The Heart House is the remarkably bright spot in the neighborhood, luring those born to live in the light of their creator. It's brightly colored and whimsically decorated. Of course, the art in the house is done by the children.
For now, The Heart House exists in the seed of a dream lying quiet, hopeful, patiently expectant. But watch out friends, when conditions are right, this dream will sprout.
Wendy Horvath is the adminstrative assistant and start up childrens' pastor at Awake Church in Winston-Salem, NC. She is an aspiring children's author and keeper of the lost and found.
