Don't you just love happy endings -- the kind that moves your spirit, makes you swallow hard and catch your breath as a burst of joy washes through you?
Some of you may remember last December's posting, Home is Where the Heart Is from Greg Sarles. He shared the poignant story of the tragic loss of his parent's cabin, "a home away from home." One of things that made this place special was the heart rock embedded in the hearth. Greg reached out to the Heart Rock Collective to share his story and ask where he might find a replacement heart rock. One of our HRC readers reached out to him and offered him the gift of some of her heart rocks. Open Hearts...giving and receiving.
A few months ago, I received another email from Greg. Reading this one left me with a warm feeling and a permanent smile etched in my heart. Here's the rest of the story as Greg tells it:
Kimberly:
One of your reader's (I believe that her name was Jenna) sent a gift of two-heart
rocks and a "Heart-Rocks" book to me this past December after you had posted
the story of my parents cabin fire. I in-turn presented Jenna's gifts to my parents at
Christmas. My usually reserved parents both reacted with sincere joy and hope in
receiving such a thoughtful gift. I just want to express my thanks to you and Jenna
for sharing your heart and hearts!
I have included a couple of photos of the hearts solid in their new hearth.
Sincerely,
Greg Sarles
PS...Hear is the original story...
In 1990 my parents built the cabin of their dreams on Ten-Mile Lake in
Northern Minnesota. The most amazing feature of the cabin was the
field-stone fireplace rising from the floor to the ceiling 25 feet overhead.
We spent hours looking for faces, animals, and hidden objects within the
rocks of this majestic fireplace. In the middle of the fireplace was a beautiful
heart-shaped stone that my mother had insisted that the builders center in the
rock formation.
This past weekend, the cabin burned to the ground. Only the fireplace stands intact.
But the intense heat caused a majority of the rocks to explode, shatter, or crack.
Although all of the personal belongings and family heirlooms in the house were
lost, we feel extremely blessed that no one was home at the time of the fire,
especially considering that the entire family was planning on spending the holidays
together at the cabin this coming weekend.
The cabin was insured and a new structure will soon replace the former, but the
The cabin was insured and a new structure will soon replace the former, but the
"broken-heart" pictured is very symbolic of the loss. I would love to surprise my
mom with another heart-shaped stone which she could use to anchor the new cabin.
Please contact me if you know of where I could purchase such a heart!
