Friday, August 20, 2010

The potter a world away...

    When I traveled to Ethiopia from Oregon in 2004, a good friend of mine, a potter, sent one of her bowls with me. It was to be a gift to a potter a world away. “Just find a potter and make a trade,” my friend said.



     Our travel group made time one afternoon and visited the regional marketplace. I waded into the sea of humanity in search of the unknown recipient of the bowl, the gift I had carried so long and so far. Our guide knew I was looking for just the right person. Together we found her.


     She had walked for two weeks to bring all that she had to offer that day. We stopped to talk. I knew she was perfect for the gift. I told her through our guide about my friend, the potter, and how that bowl was my friend’s gift to her. The woman was moved to tears. She was surprised and thankful when we bought everything she had brought to sell that day, all four bowls. She blessed us many times over, and happily began the long journey back home. She had no shoes on her feet but a beautiful gift in hand.

     I not only left with shoes on my feet, but the woman’s pottery, which I shared with my friend back home, and an even bigger gift in my heart, the smile of a potter a world away.

1 comment:

  1. That pot from Ethiopia sits on my coffee table and I enjoy it everyday!

    ReplyDelete