As families face the unimaginable, hope becomes their respite. Having hope means not giving up, despite setbacks. It means looking forward to looking back, despite today’s frustrations. But as the hours wind into days and stretch into weeks and pull into months, hope becomes a shadowy thing that tries to hide and slip away. So we work to find it; hold onto it; and keep hope vibrant and growing.
One such method of hanging on to hope is by setting it free. In the secret garden, behind the gazebo, lives a flowering crab tree which has been re-named “The Wishing Tree”. On this tree hang the hopes, wishes, and prayers of patients, siblings, parents, families, and friends. Families work together in the art room to write out their hopes and decorate the strings that will then be tied to the tree. Once on the tree, the wind blows through branches to carry the hopes into the world so they can be known. The wish pictured reads, "You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one" - John Lennon "May our dreams come true."
Time and weather will bring the hope-paper to the ground so that the garden can absorb it and allow it to grow into something beautiful. When we send our hopes out onto the wind, we trust nature to carry our hopes and ourselves to that place of gratitude, forgiveness, courage, strength, beauty, and peace.
Mission/House Story
