Hope First Family Resource Center is all about hearts!
Psalm 37:4 - Delight yourself in
the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
February makes us think of lots of things…groundhogs, past presidents, the Superbowl, and of course, hearts! Smack- dab in the middle of February- the 14th- is Valentine’s Day, the day we are told we are to reveal
our love and admiration for another human being to that human being. When I was in grade school many, many years ago, we had to decorate a shoe box with hearts adding an opening in the lid that would be able to receive those sweet little cards with messages of love and admiration that came in a pack of 50 from the local pharmacy, or other retailers. Each child would fill in the “To” section with a name from the class list, then filling their own name in the “From” section. A Valentine’s Day
party was planned for each class with yummy, sweet treats and lots of fun games. Of course, as we got older things about this day changed- the cards went from sweet to humorous, which became rather snarky; the class parties went away, and this day had the potential of causing some deep anguish and disappointment to both the giver and receiver of a card. I was fortunate to have parents who gave me and my siblings a card every year announcing to us that they continued to love us even if
classmates didn’t!
As a teenager, discovering a God whose love for me was far greater than that of my parents or any other human being gave me a profound assurance and freedom. What a gift!
Here at Hope First we think a lot about hearts every day of the year. We are drawn to that tiny,
beautiful, miraculous fetal heart that beats within the safety of its mother’s womb beginning at 3 weeks. We recognize this as the heart of a person that God already knows and loves- and has plans for. We also think about the hearts of the man and woman involved in this person’s creation, made in God’s image giving them infinite worth. We are here to serve these humans that come alone or together or with other family members seeking help. We are given the honor and privilege of demonstrating
God’s love- His heart full of grace and mercy- to them. John 3:16 “ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
We are all about hearts!!
Happy Valentine's Day,
Gigi Owen
Interim Executive Director
