A big dream

Husband and I went out on our very first date since little girl was born. The occasion was our fifth engagement day which happened to be a Saturday i.e. Feb 5th. We went to see King's Speech and both loved and enjoyed the movie greatly.

Driving home I asked Husband if he had everyhting he needed and money was not a problem would he like to start a business and if then what would it be like. To my surprise - since there was a time when he did, on occasion, talk about that - his response now was: No. Would you?" And guess what. All of a sudden I found my dream.

You see Husband gave as a Christmas gift for me a book by Carina Räihä. She was a banker who became the very first Finnish woman to climb Mount Everest. She talks in her book about finding her dream and that it took her months to find it (after she'd resinged her job). Ever since I read her book I've been wondering weather I might have a big dream like hers hidden somewhere and what that might be.

Well, now I know. I would not like to start a business (as such)  nor would I like to climb Mount Everest although given the chance to do the latter I would. But that isn't my dream.
This is: starting a kindergarten. One where there is enough staff, enough of everything, enough time, enough skills and understanding and love and compassion. Where prayer would be as natural as taking a nap. Where children could grow to love God and know that it is the greatest thing on Earth to be loved by Him.

I'm a pastor and I love being one and it is my job. But this is my dream. An impossible one, possibly, but still, this is my dream.

I am by no means saying that the kindergarten where my child spends her days is a bad one. In fact she loves it there. But it does struggle with the very same problems and limitations as most kindergartens in Finland do. One of the big ones is the Lieto is popular among young families with children and more and more children are needing daycare. As a result the groups are getting bigger.
And so, if I had the money to build a place just for kids (and not make a kindergarten from a building not originally desinged as one) and hire the very best staff this is what I would do.

Oh, how I wish I could.