🖌️ A Soup Kitchen for the Soul

I still find it strange to call myself an artist.

It’s only been a few years since I picked up a pencil again, and painting didn’t begin until September 2019. To be honest, it still feels so new, so delicate — like a tiny sprout in early spring that hasn’t quite figured out how to stand tall yet.

I’m not what you’d call “eloquent.” I stumble over words, I lose my train of thought. I’ve felt more like Moses than any modern-day visionary, questioning why God would entrust me with something so big, so sacred, so seemingly beyond my skillset.

But the vision won’t leave me.

It’s this picture of a Vibrant Creative Community Centre — what I’ve come to call a Soup Kitchen for the Soul.

• A place where people come not just to create art, but to reconnect with the creativity stitched into their DNA by the Ultimate Creator Himself.

• A place where no one has to behave before they belong.

• A space of safety, restoration, joy, and honest worship.

Some days, the vision feels like a mountain too tall to climb. The business side of it? Frankly, it scares the daylights out of me. I didn’t sign up to be an entrepreneur. I just wanted to help people heal. But I’m learning that ministry often flows through the most unexpected vessels — paintbrushes, spreadsheets, even spreadsheets (sigh).

What I do know is this: creativity is not just for “artists.”

We’ve been conditioned to believe that unless it’s perfect, it doesn’t count. But every child knows better. They sing loudly, draw wildly, dance messily — and it’s glorious. Until someone tells them they’re doing it wrong. And then fear steps in. Shame silences the song.

But here’s the truth I’m clinging to:✨ God is the Ultimate Creator, and we were made in His image (Genesis 1:27).✨ Creativity is in our bones.✨ And when it’s done in partnership with the Holy Spirit, it becomes a form of worship — one that brings deep healing.

It has for me.

You see, I’ve battled anxiety and depression for most of my life. High-functioning on the outside, falling apart inside. But something began to shift when I started creating again. Painting, Bible journaling, singing — it’s like the Holy Spirit breathes through the process, brushing colour back into the parts of me that went grey from pain.

Now, when heaviness comes, I know where to turn. Not inward. Not into isolation. But toward worship. Toward creativity. Toward God’s presence.

As this vision has grown, I’ve found myself occasionally daring to imagine the physical space where this might one day live. And interestingly, my mind keeps returning to the Mairangi Bay Art Centre.

Each time I picture it, I catch myself praying, “Lord… how does this fit into the grand scheme of Your purpose?🤔” And yet, the more I sit with that question, the more the space itself feels like a quiet answer.

It already holds so much of what this vision would need.

There’s a kitchen — perfect for cooking lessons and shared meals. Space for a small café that could so easily become a literal soup kitchen, reflecting the soup kitchen for the soul God placed on my heart. There’s even a garden — ready to be stewarded into a vegetable patch, growing food for the kitchen and nourishment for the community.

The exhibition spaces are generous and light-filled, ideal for showcasing creativity and telling redemptive stories. The hall is large enough to host markets and gatherings, creating room for connection and sustainability. There are spacious classrooms and even a dedicated pottery studio with an existing kiln, already prepared for hands-on, healing creativity.

It feels almost too perfect, and maybe that’s the point.

I don’t yet know how, when, or even if this is the place God has in mind. For now, I hold it loosely. I place it back in His hands. And I continue taking one small, obedient step at a time — trusting that if God has prepared the vision, He is also preparing the place.

So here I am, taking one small, obedient step at a time.

And maybe, just maybe, you’ve got a creative spark inside you too. One that’s been buried under years of responsibility, fear, or the lie that you’re not good enough.

If that’s you, I want you to know — there’s a place for you here. You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to show up.

This is your invitation to breathe again.

• To create.

• To heal.

• To belong before you believe.

• To be loved into the Kingdom.

Let’s build this together — not perfectly, but faithfully.

🎨 Want to connect or join the vision?

📩 Email: trixi.schwartz@gmail.com

🖼️ Browse artwork: Trixi’s Portfolio

🛠️ Creative Prompt: Try something playful this week. Doodle on a napkin. Sing a song you loved as a child. Finger-paint with your kids. Let go of “perfect.” Just let your soul speak.

🙏 Prayer for the Journey: Lord, I bring You my trembling hands and my hesitant yes. Teach me to create with You — not for approval, but for healing. Make beauty out of the places in me that still feel broken. And may this little vision grow into a big story of redemption.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.