Musings from Charlottesville

       Yesterday, I went with my best friend to visit where she is going to be moving. I sat in the lobby of the hospital as she was upstairs in an interview, and I decided to take that time to sit, think, write, observe and just be still. Here is what I wrote:
       Sitting here at the University of Virginia near a pediatric and maternity ward, I am able to observe a variety of people including various nationalities and patients. The variety is vast from expectant mothers, stooped elderly Indian women to the young girl being wheeled out by a woman who appears to be her mother. Me and this particular girl lock eyes for a brief second...her beautifully knit baby blue hat covering her head as to cheerfully say, "Look at me! I'm still beautiful despite the fact all of my hair is gone from battling this monster called cancer." It tugs at my heart strings as she appeared to be around the same age as my own daughter, yet her eyes showed me an age beyond her years. These observations, these musings lead me to the same question, "What am I, Elizabeth, supposed to be doing with my life?" I wonder for a brief second, and then it dawns on me, no matter what path I choose, no matter what I decide, I will always work best at helping people, for it lies within my personal make-up. It is hard-wired within me, and it is who I am. So, writing will always be a huge part of me, but "acts of service" allow me to have the information and words needed to be penned and read by me and also others.
       I thoroughly enjoyed being out of my element yesterday. I had plenty of time to sit and think. I've been doing a great deal of that since Sunday afternoon. So much has been on my mind. I can feel a change coming in my life, and I don't know exactly what it is. All I know is God is laying on my heart to sit and think....sit and observe...sit and be quiet. I've picked up writing again. For a while, my pen had run dry. My words were gone...there was nothing to say. I wasn't sad or depressed, I just didn't know where the fire went. Now, I know that this is the time, the transitional period of my life to bigger and better things. I know that change is good, change is for the better. I realize that no matter where life takes me, God will always be by my side, guiding me each step of the way. Friends may come and go, but God remains forever the same.