“She sets about her work vigorously, her arms are strong for her tasks….She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes. She is clothed with strength and dignity, she can laugh at the days to come….She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.” Proverbs 31:17, 24, 25, 27
Whenever I’m in America, I look for material that’s cotton, flaunts bright colors, and is on sale. My Lavukal friends are never far from my mind. They don’t have access to sturdy, good quality cloth, and I love to help provide it for them. So does my friend, Gayly, who often sends material and thread across the Pacific. This morning, I attended the 2020 opening of the Marulaon Homelav Association (homelav is the Lavukal word for women).
They are excited to be sharing their skills with each other in the areas of sewing, dying, and flower arranging, and today they kicked off their sewing and dying. My friends were super excited about the material, there was one in particular, a deep, ruby red with white flowers that everyone loved. Sitting in front of everyone and wearing a necklace of fragrant frangipannis is NOT my idea of a good time. I would rather be in the audience, holding babies and visiting with my friends.
But today, I accepted their culturally appropriate way of saying “thank you.” Next time, I’ll be back in the midst of them. I watched the ladies live out Proverbs 31 today as they used one hand to crank the sewing machine and the other hand to guide the material. Washing clothes, going to the garden, cooking supper, minding babies...all those things awaited them at home. No lazy woman can survive for very long here. Yet somehow they manage to bring beauty and color into their lives, reflecting their Creator.
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