Don't judge a book by its cover.

How many times that this little adage been said?! How many parents have said to a stubborn child, “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.” How many teachers and mentors and friends have said this over the course of days and years? How many times has this little phrased passed my lips, or entered my ears? 

Yet, somehow, I am once again struck by how true this is. Struck by how often I make snap judgements, or how often my perception turns out to be wrong. That’s right folks, it’s true that you should not judge a book by its cover.

I have been walking past her for years. Literally years. She sits out on one of the lanes that leads to Sari Bari. I always assumed she was a madam, keeping women who work in the trade, and taking a cut of their earnings. She sits there with a hard face.  And often times when I walked by I would smile. If she smiled back it was a huge victory for the day.

For years Sarah and I have talked about her. I’d arrive back at Sari Bari after running an errand and say, “The Big Scary Mashi smiled at me today.”

And then, one day in the summer she walked into Sari Bari. She was dressed up, in a beautiful sari (not what I was used to seeing her sit out on the lane in). She had done her hair, and was wearing some lip gloss. She had come looking for work at Sari Bari. And I was surprised (pleasantly surprised, but surprised none the less). I think she would have been on my list of “people who will never come work at Sari Bari.” And then one day, she’s sitting on our verandah, and a manager and I are interviewing her. (when she left we weren’t convinced that she’d actually come work for us. We weren’t convinced that she actually wanted to work that hard).

But a week or so later she came back to follow up, and find out when we were going to start training.

And in July she started training at Sari Bari.

She is not at all the persona that I had made for her in my mind. She is tender. She has the most beautiful smile. She is smart. And hardworking. She is like a flower blooming in our midst.  Her sewing keeps improving. She is learning. She is there everyday.

And every time she smiles it is a gift. That beautiful smile that lights up the room. And I feel like an unworthy recipient of  her.

And I am reminded, again, that I should never judge a book by it’s cover.  

You never know what sort of treasure and beauty you’re going to find just beneath that hardened exterior.