Last week I was sitting in the reception area of Water Street Ministries' health services, waiting to talk about the internship details for the two nursing students who will work there this summer. Someone walked by another woman waiting there and complimented the woman's clothes. Turns out that woman made her outfit - she ripped up an old pair of jeans, using bright yellow fabric for patches. The yellow fabric came from an old shirt, which she turned into a cool, modern summer shirt with several sets of straps (my description isn't doing it justice).
I ended up talking with this woman for 10 minutes, admiring her work, hearing about how she makes the clothes, and about how you can buy jeans like hers for $50 or $60 at the mall. She told me she was handed a needle and thread when she was 4 years old. Her grandkids and their friends are always asking her for customized outfits, which she enjoys making (but wishes the kids were interested in learning how to do it themselves). We commiserated together about how many people buy things new and throw them out when they are barely worn, which contributes to our financial problems and the issue of having more trash than we know what to do with. When I described a small hole that was developing in a less-than-ideal place on a pair of my jeans, she told me how to fix it.
What I thought was a business visit turned into a lot more. It was a thoroughly enjoyable 1omin. Gotta love the blessings that come from interacting with new people. In fact, it's probably worth viewing every stranger as a hidden blessing.
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