small beginnings

for this weekend that seems to be the first free one after a long while, may i not be disappointed with small beginnings, even if they lead only to small endings.

i have been to places the past week, places that i would not have known people from, had it not been for the skills that are in me.  i do not anymore wonder why i have these skills or how i know them, i trust that they are in me so i can meet my purpose.

that week, i was asked to see the crochet skills of women in pasacao, a fishing village north of where i live, some forty kilometers away.  i was also tasked to suggest other materials that can be incorporated in the craft so that it would have some market appeal.  i started early as it has been ages since i was last there, when i was in the sixth grade and  the class went for a swimming excursion.  

the first sight that greeted me was this long lonely road, and i thought, this indeed may be a long lonely path am taking. nobody seems to want to get involved, or just maybe i have not met the person who would want to trek the same path? bwahahaha!

the place where the training would take place was in a room on the second floor of a dilapidated building, the stairs to it was substandard, i had to watch my steps or else the floor will find me. bwahahaha!  the room had air-conditioning, also an open door that lets out the cool air. bwahahaha!  i had to fan myself cool all the time.

i came to know some women, and three in particular stood out, to have the best skills among the group.  by the end of the training day, i left them with some fabrics they can work on and set a date for a follow up meeting.

last friday was that follow up meeting day.  true enough, they came and brought the pieces of fabrics i asked them to work on.  

not after julie and i silently had doubts that they would make good their word. bwahahaha!  thomases, are we. i was quite impressed with not only the improved quality of the stitches, but also of their determination to make this project work.  i see in their eyes the longing to do something and make something they can call their own.

 i have always been hopeful that this may give them the start of a livelihood, but i have to hold off my high hopes, or is it okey if i hope high?  

for this weekend, i know this for sure:  when i seek to grasp for bigger and wider, i am made to remember how much i should also treasure smallness, simplicity and soul space.

whenever i do these training, and share my gifts to the rural women, i know i always would carve out a sense of myself in them.  and in turn, i carve out your presence in them, too.

thank you for the chances that i am given to share these gifts.  life is good!  bwahahaha!