If you walk through the front door of our Family Connection Center you will see that our lobby feels much like an outdoor setting. We want the community to walk in and feel that they are getting away. The lobby has many special touches from hidden lady bugs, hand-painted billowing clouds to our 9-foot-tall Cypress trees that flank the space. While the trees look outdoorsy and help compliment the vibe, they speak so much more.
Historically speaking, people groups that had access to a waterway have easier access to nourishment, transportation, expansion of work as water could provide ability to create power through hydraulics. According to the National Wildlife Federation, "cypresses have very important roles in the wild. Since they tend to grow along rivers and in wetlands, they are excellent at soaking up floodwaters and preventing erosion. They also trap pollutants and prevent them from spreading." One of the things we say to our staff is that our goal is to minimize the impacts of previous trauma and do our very, very best work to prevent new trauma. Sounds very much like the work of the cypress "soaking up floodwaters and preventing erosion".
Isaiah 55:12 says "You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Verse 13 goes on to say, "Instead of the thorn will grow the cypress, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the Lord ’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever.”
We feel these promises deeply for the families that we serve. If you have ever walked a recovery road and have seen the beauty that comes from ashes you can understand the miracle that is thorns being replaced with flowering bushes.
In our center, families engage in community and family modeling that they may have never seen or they never think is possible for their family. They are connected to resources that will help with job readiness, language barriers, interpersonal dynamics within a family, mental health support, trauma therapy, mentorship and so much more. We are working to till the dry, beaten down soil so that new things can be planted and bear fruit. Our prayer is that our center would be like a refuge strategically placed by the cypress, strong and providing shade, providing access to TRUTH...not just a place to meet physical tangible needs that are critical in their own way, but that families would be refreshed by the access to support for their spiritual well-being. Our prayer is that as families walk into Hope Spring broken, they can truly experience a season of healing and "go out in JOY and be lead forth in PEACE" and we will surely rise up and clap in celebration. With our first 12 people in our care, we are already seeing the impacts of the comfort they are receiving.
Come plant cypress seedlings with us! The soil is tilled and ready for freshly planted seeds. We can't do it without your help!
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