Home is Where the Heart Is...

The Heart Rock Collective (HRC) ~ A Blog with Heart(s)

Greg Sarles emailed the HRC to share this poignant story of the tragic loss of his family's home. Nothing touches the human heart more deeply than the loss of one's dreams, priceless memories and the treasured place one calls "home".

This Christmas season, my wish for Greg and his family is one of hope for the future. May they rebuild their new home upon a solid foundation of loving memories and long sought after dreams. Home is where the heart is...

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 "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!

Sincerely,
Greg Sarles


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What better Christmas gift to give than to share one's heart. Any Heart Rock Collector who would like to share a "heart" with Greg, please contact the heartrockcollective@gmail.com!!

Healing Broken Hearts

When I first began to find heart rocks, my collection resembled a mass of rejects from the Lonely (and Broken) Hearts Club. I was a magnet for attracting 'broken' hearts. Many years later I discovered the message that each broken heart (rock) contained. These symbolized the places within my own heart that needed healing and restoration.

Burdened by years of unresolved anger, failed relationships and unfulfilled dreams, I felt heart-weary and hopeless. Prayer offered me solace; I began to ask God to show His love for me. That's when I began to find heart rocks. At my darkest moments, God offered me the most beautiful heart rocks. I began to share them with friends and family. Bits of joy began to replace the heaviness that weighed on my heart. The more heart rocks I gave away, the more love filtered into my life. Today my heart is full of hope...still healing and becoming whole!

The seeds for this blog were sown by my brother, Chris. I'd begun to write a collection of stories entitled 'Writings from the Heart Rock Collective'. He encouraged me to share the stories of my 'heart rocks' on the web. From this small seed, the collective voices of heart rock lovers emerged. My vision for this blog is to create a virtual community where people can share their heart stories freely, fully and openly.

Keep the Heart Streams flowing! Give away your heart rocks to those who need some love. Help participate in the movement of 'healing hearts' through sharing one heart rock at a time.