Ladies
The Acorn
Aaron Burch
A
black cord, the cap of an acorn (officially known as a
cupule), a beautiful bead where the nut once was, small
decorative beads and a long slender piece of metal to
hold it all together: these are signs of hope. Specifically, with the
caption “Within every acorn is the HOPE of a mighty oak,” on a
tiny painted card, these are the inspiring necklaces created by Jewels
of Grace, a compassionate group of women from Christ Church
United Methodist.
These lovely, simple pieces have been fit together in unique designs to create HOPE necklaces. In just over 18 months, the group
of 8-10 has made more than 1,000 HOPE necklaces for the women
of The Healing Place Addiction Recovery Center, who struggle to
get freedom from alcohol, heroin and other addictions.
Jewels of Grace is the group’s official name, but the women of
The Healing Place lovingly refer to them as “Acorn Ladies.” For
three hours each week, the group meets on the second floor of
Christ Church to craft handmade jewelry into loving pieces to be
cherished by those in need.
“The group had been making jewelry as a hobby beforehand,”
recalled Paula Matthews, the Jewels of Grace member who initially
proposed the idea of HOPE necklaces. “I went with Dan Stokes,
our former music director, down to 4th Avenue Church where they
were providing meals for men at The Healing Place. He asked me
to go and play some Christmas music. I noticed he knew each man
and would call them by their name, and their faces would light up.
So I asked, ‘What is being done for The Healing Place women?’ He
threw the ball back in my court with a simple look. ‘What are you
going to do?’ That set my mind working.”
With the seed planted, Mrs. Matthews (spouse of Dr. Tim Matthews, a pathologist at Baptist Health) began brainstorming ways
her church group could make a difference. By happenstance, she had
collected 500 acorns a few months prior. “I just couldn’t throw them
away. I kept them and dried them, not really knowing why,” she said.
“I came to the Jewels of Grace group and asked, ‘What if we
focus our attention and try to help the women at The Healing
Place?’ Another woman here, Vicki, said she had such a heart for
The Healing Place. I didn’t know this. She said, ‘My son was at The
Healing Place and we lost him two years ago due to years of alcohol
abuse.’ And other women spoke of the center as well. Everybody
knows somebody affected by addiction. We agreed then to learn
and do what we could.”
The next step for Jewels of Grace was reaching out to The Healing
Place so they could learn more about the lives of women residing
on campus. On a tour of the facility, the group was amazed by the
beauty of the people within and the success of the program.
“We just listened and looked. There was so much respect and
gratefulness. We saw on the wall a quote ‘Where hope is found.’
And that word ‘Hope’ stuck with me. I began doing research and
found an anonymous quote that said, ‘Within every acorn is the
hope of a mighty oak.’ I knew right then that was a piece of the
puzzle and began to see the importance of the 500 acorn caps, the
key component of our acorn HOPE necklaces. Online, I spotted a
tree growing from an acorn and painted off the idea. We use that
art for our card and packaging.”
Jewels of Grace started its friendship with The Healing Place by
bringing in 100 handmade HOPE necklaces, no two alike, in January
2015. At the time, they didn’t know if there would ever be a call for
more. Now the group delivers approximately 120 every six weeks.
“These women appreciate the handmade necklaces. When they’re
at The Healing Place, they say they don’t feel pretty,” said Mrs. Matthews. “They say they’ve gone through their families like tornadoes.
They don’t feel lovable. A lot of them are just young girls, ages 18-25.
OCTOBER 2016
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