As a little girl I day-dreamed about the house I would live in. Some days it was a castle and I was a princess. Other days it was a fort made in the woods of our back yard and I became an Indian maiden or a pioneer. Children – I dare say all children – have similar dreams and their play revolves around it. The old saying “home is where the heart is” rings a solid and true cord within us all.
As an adult, I gravitated to the work world of non-profits. I find the people who dedicate their lives to improving the lives of others are the ones I want to spend my time working around and I find the work being done – servicing mankind – fills the need I have to be a servant.
This past year I had the blessing of those two parts of my life colliding when I was asked to come on board as Director of Volunteers for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga.
The Chattanooga Habitat affiliate had just brought in John Atherton as their new Executive Director and I knew John through his work at the Chattanooga Resource Foundation. I had also worked with his wife, Pam, and had experienced first hand their commitment to God and His kingdom here on earth. Another John, John Lamb, worked at Habitat as the Director of Development and Communications. I knew John Lamb from working with him for six years at another local non-profit. I knew John to be a man of integrity and with high moral standards and work standards.
What I did not know was very much about Habitat for Humanity. I checked out their web site www.habichatt.org and got quite an education. I was convinced that this program for homeownership was not a handout but a journey that truly changed the lives of those who qualified for a Habitat house. The homeowner education classes, which are part of the 300 sweat equity hours required, and the fact that a homeowner works on their own home and the home of another Habitat family helped convince me that this was a program I wanted to be involved in. The determining factor for me was learning that Habitat finances their houses at 0% interest – following the precept in the Bible of lend money to the poor but do not charge interest.
The first week I was at Habitat we dedicated our 200th house here in the Chattanooga. During my first few months we were recognized for funding another 106 houses in third world countries, built a house at Riverbend and dedicated that home as well as three others. We are in the middle of working on another GPS/McCallie house build and Student Build ’08 which involves 10 area high schools and will create another Habitat home. I have the blessing every day of praying and working with my fellow staff mates, working with absolutely amazing loving and giving volunteers and being a part of Habitat’s mission of transforming community – OUR community.
Why do I love my job? I get to be a part of building castles and helping another one of God’s children fulfill their day-dream. I get to see someone else make a home for their heart.
