Pleasurable Work by Susan L.

  This month at the centre I ran a two day crazy quilt workshop. We made little pillow covers to learn how to do the top then stuffed them with dried lavender. My own was stuffed with fabric softener dryer sheets and hung in the bedroom closet. It was a fun group with lots of laughter, chat and sharing reminiscent of old fashioned quilting bees.
  Next month I'll facilitate a group to learn how to do acrylic painting. It will be easier for everyone, including me, than the summer's watercolour workshops. That's a challenging medium to master that I still struggle with. It can be fickle and has a mind of its own at times.
  I feel so blessed in having an opportunity to share my skills with others. Nothing delights me more than to see the successes of those under my tutelage. Nothing thrills me more than to watch someone who has been told they don't have an artistic bone in their body delight in what they do. I love the sense of ``WOW! I did that!`` that fills their spirit. I celebrate their courage that despite all they've been told, they try! All I've done is hold the door open for them.
  Most of my teaching hasn't emphasised what's being put on paper. That skill grows with time. The teaching has been about training the eye to look at things and really see them in all their colours, textures and hues. It`s a beautiful world out there.
  I`m so very thankful to be in a work environment that is so supportive, mutually so. The two other ladies I work with and those who volunteer have their own unique skill sets. Where one of us is lacking, the other takes up the slack and like the quilting workshop, there is much laughter. It doesn`t get much better than that.
  ``Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.`` 1 Tim 2:1-2